The Crown's Jewel
by The Spying Devil
Summary: Kagome really didn't know what to say. This had to be karma. Closing her eyes, she hoped this was a dream... a bad one. Clearly not, seeing as she was knocked onto the hard pavement and a voice was screaming bloody murder. Why did her life have to be so difficult? This just had to be the one day she got caught in Sango's trouble making. (Pairing to be announced at a later time.)
1. Chapter 1

**Hi everyone. It's been a long time since I posted anything on this website, and now that I have the time, I decided to celebrate with a new story. None of the characters belong to me, all rights go to their rightful owners.**

**Let me know what you think; I want your honest opinions. The main pairing with go unannounced until a later time so it doesn't give anything away, but feel free to guess who the male character is. The rating at the moment is T, but if it goes up, I will post and let you know what chapters will have explicit content in advance.**

**Updates will be rather sporadic due to the length of the chapters and my busy schedule, but I will try to get a chapter out at least once a month, so please do keep that in mind. Other than that, enjoy.**

**ooo**

"_Volleyball is a sport of height. It is absolute that tall players are strong. Strengthening each play is a strength, and so is finding a new way to fight. That's exactly why there are so many different attacks and defenses today. There are truly various kinds of strengths." ~ Ikkei Ukkai_

**ooo**

"One more nice serve." As Iwaizumi watched his teammates practicing for their upcoming, he watched Oikawa's powerful serve crash into Hanamaki's arms on the other side of the net.

"Oikawa, stop going all out on your serves. You're gonna break my arms." Hanamaki yelled mockingly across the gym as Oikawa turned to him with a "innocent smile" before serving again.

"Iwaizumi." Said vice-captain turned around to see the Head Coach and Mizoguchi walking up to him on the bench. Setting his foot down from tying his shoe, he stood up and greeted his coach.

"Hai Coach." The continuous sounds of skidding shoes, yelling and the thud of the volleyball falling on the ground was pushed into the background.

"It looks like Oikawa's already back on his feet again. How is the team doing?" The coach replied, as the three of them turned to watch the practice match playing out. Aoba Josai had split into two groups and were playing against each other, training for the inter-high that was just around the corner.

"You know how he is. As for the team, we're practicing serving and receiving right now. Did you notice anything we could work on?" Iwaizumi asked both coaches.

"Just keep up the practice you're doing. And definitely work on your speed." The Head Coach said.

"Watari switched to be a libero last year, right?" At the nod of Iwaizumi, he continued. "He is a good libero, I won't deny that, but he needs to work with another libero. Maybe Mizoguchi can help?" Mizaguchi looked at the coach with wide eyes.

"I haven't played libero in years now Coach." Mizoguchi sheepishly smiled, rubbing the back of his head as he watched Watari fail to pick up one of Oikawa's serves.

"Libero's are crucial in a game, as they are the ones who set the pace for the setter and they are the backbone of receiving. Maybe I'll have to step in." The Coach said as he watched Watari practice. Iwaizumi and Mizoguchi gave the Coach shocked looks, wondering whether the Coach was feeling alright. They didn't want to let the Coach on the court, knowing his age, he might pull a muscle or worse.

"There's no need for that Coach. Oikawa and I know someone who can help." Iwaizumi replied, already dreading the headache that Oikawa would soon cause.

"That's good. If possible, have them come for practice later today. Are they good?" Iwaizumi was quiet. He didn't know really where to start. Thinking back to junior high, memories started to flash through his head.

"She was the captain of the Girls Team back when we were at Kitagawa Daichi. You met her at our game with Date Tech during last year's Inter-Highs." Iwaizumi replied. Mizaguchi's eyes widened, and he went to ask something but was cut off.

"Ah, Shirabu-san? I recall her coming to our games in the past. Isn't she on her high school's volleyball team?" The Coach asked.

"Hai. She's the captain." Iwaizumi could say that without a doubt. While she may have started volleyball after him and Oikawa, they both agreed that she was the best receiver out of the three of them. "She's coming here later on today, so Oikawa and I can get her to stop by for afternoon practice."

"Please do." Mizaguchi told the third year while the Coach called the rest of the team over.

"Practice is over. Get changed and head on to class. Oikawa, stay behind for a bit." The Coach told the group before relaxing, his hands clasping together behind his back.

"Arigato Gozaimashita" Oikawa said, with the rest of the team following in unison. As the boys headed to the locker room to change, Oikawa asked what the coach needed.

"We're going to see if we can get someone your friend, Shirabu-san, to train Watari and polish his skills as a libero. Can you give her a call and ask her to come to practice later?"

"Ahhh, Tsuki-chan's gonna come here?" Oikawa turned to Iwaizumi with a large smile on his face and began to cheer. Iwaizumi's forehead grew a tick mark and he headbutted Oikawa. Oikawa held his hand to his head and whined as two coaches sweat dropped at the normal sight of the two of them arguing.

"I'll ask her and see what she says." Iwaizumi told the Coach, knowing that if he left Oikawa do the talking, he'd all but ask the girl to switch schools and come here.

**ooo**

"Miles away, in another gym, a porcelain-looking girl shivered as she felt someone talking about her. Pushing her hair out of her face, she continued to watch the match when a set of long pale arms slipped around her shoulders.

"What's wrong Kagome-chan?" She looked behind her to see one of her brother's teammates latched on to her. Knowing it was useless to try and escape his grasp, she ignored the contact and turned back towards the game.

"Not much. Just tired. How are your hands?" Kagome asked as she grabbed his hands and looked over them, making sure he didn't cause any strain to his already injured hands.

"Aww you're worried about me. I'm fine. Nothing more than a dull pain, but the medicine is working." He replied, flexing his fingers as he put his chin on the girl's head.

"That will teach you to go against him when he's in a bad mood. Honestly, do you have any sense of self-preservation? It's a miracle you're still here." Kagome muttered to herself, causing the boy behind her to chuckle.

"I'll be fine Kagome-chan. Ah, what did Tsutomu want from you earlier?" He asked.

"Just to see what kinds of improvements he could make." Kagome replied as she continued to watch her brother set another ball up to the spiker. She went to speak again, when she heard her phone go off. Pulling out her phone, her eyebrows raised at the contact name that popped up on the screen.

"I need to take this. And you need to go ice your fingers. Don't lie, I can tell they're starting to hurt. If I see you do something stupid again, I swear to Kami-sama I'll have the coach bench you." Kagome left the threat hanging as she pulled out of the boy's arms and headed out of the gym. Once she was a safe distance away from the gym, she answered the phone and put it up to her ear.

"Hajime?" Kagome answered as a grin plastered on her face.

"Hi Kagome, what are you up to?" Iwaizumi asked.

"Not much. My coach kicked me out of practice when she saw me go to practice setting, saying that I can't set until she saw a doctor's note. What about yourself?" Kagome asked.

"Huh... where to even begin. I swear Oikawa makes my day so much harder than it needs to be." He grumbled and Kagome laughed, remembering exactly who they were talking about.

"Speaking about him, I'm surprised I don't hear Tooru in the background. Did you knock him out again?" Kagome sweat-dropped at the thought.

"Of course, I did. He wouldn't shut up after the coach brought you up. Listen, I have to get to class, but can you do me a favor?"

"What do you need?" Kagome asked, playing with her fingers.

"Our libero needs some help fine tuning his skills. Do you think you could come over for today's afternoon practice?" Kagome pondered on the thought. They're practice started almost right after her classes ended. It would be a rush to get there. Not to mention various other things, Kagome thought as she looked down at the pressure bandage on her left wrist.

"I'll buy you oden if you come." Kagome bit her lip and gave it a good thought. If she told Iwaizumi about her wrist, he'd tell her not to come and she wouldn't get her oden.

"Only for the oden." Kagome replies. She heard footsteps coming down the hall and saw the volleyball club members talking as they headed to their classes.

"Classes are going to start soon, so I have to go. I'll see you later today at your practice. Ah, say hi to Tooru for me." Kagome told Iwaizumi before ending the call.

"Let's go Kagome-chan. Class is going to start soon." A familiar pale arm wrapped around the girl's shoulder as she was dragged off away from the rest of the group of boys she called friends.

"You're too loud. Honestly, what am I going to do with you Tendo?" Kagome grumbled as the red head gave her a mocking smile before pulling her into their first class.

It felt like an eternity before the bell finally rang. Kagome packed her bag, nodding goodbye to some of her classmates and headed out of her math class. Once she arrived at the volleyball courts, she saw that her friends had already started getting ready for practice to begin.

"Are you staying again?" She turned to see Tendo behind her, dressed in his practice wear.

"Nope. There's no practice today and I'm supposed to head over to Tooru's place for the weekend. You're coming over for the weekend, aren't you?" Kagome asked, as she watched her brother practice setting to the spikers.

"As always. We'll keep it PG for you when you come back." Tendo grinned as the girl's facial expression turned into disgust. She had been rather frosty towards him when they met back in his second year. She had gotten into Shiratorizawa on a full ride scholarship and was even moved up a year, so they were in many classes together. Her brother, who had remained a first year, was quick out and make friends with the team, but she remained quite distant. But over the last year and a half, she had softened up to him and the rest of the main volleyball members.

"Too much information Tendo. I don't need to know that much about my brother." Kagome told him, before checking her phone for the time. Realizing it was time to go, she waved to her brother who had looked over momentarily before turning to Tendo.

"I'm going now. Tell Kei that I'll be home late on Sunday." Kagome felt Tendo give her a small hug before pushing her out the gym doors and waving to her.

**ooo**

"Where is that Baka Oikawa?" Iwaizumi asked.

"Haven't seen him since class ended." Matsukawa replied as the boys began to set up the volleyball nets.

"Coach is gonna yell at him again." Hanamaki sighed, having said this many times. As usual, the first and second years had changed and come out onto the courts, but there was no Oikawa.

"Boys start your warmup. Make sure to stretch." The Coach looked around, looking for Oikawa, and couldn't find him.

"Where is Oikawa?" The Coach asked, but the man had the feeling he knew where his captain was.

"Ah, I saw him talking with some girls from other schools." Yahaba replied. The team sweat dropped as the Coach let out a dark aura.

"Iwaizumi." Said boy's face darkened as he went off to grab the idiot and drag him back.

"A little birdie told me that a certain friend is coming over to help Watari with his receiving today." Hanamaki told Matsukawa as the team began to stretch and do light exercises.

"Really? And Coach allowed it?" Matsukawa gave Hanamaki a raised eyebrow. Hanamaki nodded back.

"How many times have I told you not to go flirting with girls, Crappy Oikawa!" The team looked up to see their captain being chewed out by their vice-captain.

"It makes me wonder how those two are friends sometimes." Kindaichi said as he stared at the two arguing friends. Even back in Kitagawa Daichi, this was a reoccurring scene he would see at practice and outside.

"You would wonder who the real captain of this team was if you didn't know them." Hanamaki laughed out as the captain and vice-captain joined the team in stretching and warming up.

"As you know, Inter-High is just two weeks away. Make sure your polishing your technique and start working on speed and timing." The Coach told the boys before walking over to the bench where Mizaguchi was sitting. The boys split up into groups and practicing serving and passing, focusing on their technique and control of the ball. Soon, their practice had evolved into a match against each other.

It hadn't been long since they started a practice match when the gym doors opened again. This time, a girl stepped into the gym. None of the boys playing had seen the girl come in besides some of the first years who were taking a break.

"Who's that?" Yahaba asked as he saw the girl walking up towards the team.

"Saa who knows. Maybe she's another one of Oikawa-senpai's fans?" Another club remember replied.

The girl walked up to the Coach, who stood up alongside Mizaguchi to greet her. They shook hands as the girl introduced herself, and the three began to quietly talk amongst themselves. The girl had paused in talking at one point and was watching the players on the court when the Coach blew the whistle and called them all over.

"Tsuki-Chan's here!" A couple of the boys had turned to stare at their captain as he bounced over to the girl standing next to their coach and glomped her.

"Tooru, you're heavy. Get off me." Hanamaki grinned as the team formed a half circle around the coach. Iwaizumi sighed as he tried to pry Oikawa off the girl before deeming that it was useless and stepping back.

"Kagome, it's been too long. How are you?" Matsukawa asked as the third years went up to greet the girl. The first and second years stood back as their senpais chatted with the newcomer, while their captain still hung to her like a sloth.

"Boys, we have asked someone to come here today to help you with your receiving." The Coach told them before letting the girl introduce herself. The first and second years was able to get a good look at who was going to help them with volleyball. The girl in front of them was a dainty looking thing, almost fragile-like.

"I'm Shirabu Kagome, a third year. Yoroshiku." Kagome introduced herself and bowed, her long hair swaying to the side as she pushed it back.

"Shirabu-san is going to be monitoring receiving, so play your best." The coach told them before dismissing them to practice.

"The girls locker room is that way." Mizaguchi told Kagome, who nodded before heading off to change into practice clothing.

"Ya Oikawa-senpai, who is that?" One of the newer club members asked as the new teams were chosen.

"Ah Tsuki-Chan is mine and Iwa-Chan's childhood friend. Iwa-chan asked her to come today." Oikawa grinned.

"I didn't recognize the uniform. Where does she go?" Yahaba asked. He regretted the question when a dark cloud formed over Oikawa's head.

"She goes to Shiratorizawa. This Baka never stops moping about that so ignore him when he does." Iwaizumi told them, kicking Oikawa in the back.

"She goes to school with Ushiwaka. My poor Tsuki-Chan is stuck with him forever." Oikawa whined.

"Aho. Get off your ass and get ready to play Oikawa." Iwaizumi yelled at the boy.

"Maa Maa. Calm down Hajime. Honestly, what am I going to do with you two?" The boys turned to see Kagome watching them. She had changed into black shorts, a purple Shiratorizawa jersey and had black knee pads on. Her raven hair was pulled up into a high ponytail, with the ends flowing past her shoulders. But what caught most of the boys' attention was the pressure bandage that was wrapped around her left wrist.

"Tsuki-Chan, Iwa-Chan is being mean to me." Oikawa wrapped himself around Kagome and began to whine.

"Hai hai. Tooru, Hajime, go so we start your practice. Might I remind you that you asked me to come here to help your libero." Kagome pried Oikawa off of her and sent him off to his team.

"Are you injured?" Iwaizumi asked, looking at the pressure bandage on Kagome's wrist. Kagome shoved her left hand behind her back and brushed the question off.

"I'm fine. It doesn't hurt badly. Ara, if it isn't Kindaichi and Kunimi-chan." Kagome said, walking up to the two first years.

"You guys got into Seijou, huh. Congratulations." Kagome said, greeting the two first years.

"Hai Kagome-senpai. It's good to see you again." The two responded, bowing to their senior from junior high. As the two straightened themselves, Kunimi took a good look at their senpai. She didn't look much different from when he saw her in Kitagawa Daichi.

"Who is your libero anyways?" Kagome asked. Kindaichi pointed at Watari and Kagome turned to look at the libero, analyzing him. 'So, this is the one that switched positions. That's why Hajime called me over,' Kagome thought.

"You used to play setter, didn't you?" Watari was surprised that she knew.

"How did you know?" He asked, but Kagome didn't respond.

"I'm gonna be helping you with you receiving so let's head on over to the other court." Nodding, Watari followed after Kagome as they went to the second court that had been set up.

"I want to see your skills for a bit. Receive the ball." Kagome told Watari who stood on the other side of the court as she grabbed a ball from the net. Tossing the ball up into the air, she ran towards the base line and leaped into the air, striking the ball. The volleyball went sailing to the other side where Watari received it with no difficulty. Ball after ball, Watari received as Kagome kept serving across the court, only pausing to give advice about positioning or timing.

"Have you been able to handle your teammate's serving?" Kagome asked once they had practiced with multiple serves.

"Most of them. Iwaizumi-Senpai's are a little hard to get but I can manage a couple. As for Oikawa-senpai, some of them but not the powerful ones he does." Kagome nodded. As she turned to look at the court, she noticed that the boys had stopped playing and were now lounging on the side of their court watching Watari's training as they took a water break.

"Okay. Let's practice with their serves then. You'll receive a couple of their serves and then I'll help fine tune your skills." Kagome told Watari before gesturing for Oikawa to join them. Once she explained what he was to do, Oikawa went over to the other side of the court and grabbed a ball.

"I'm not going easy on you Watachi." Oikawa said, spinning the ball in his hands. Meanwhile, Kagome had moved to the sideline where the boys were watching and stood next to Hanamaki and Iwaizumi.

"Did you give him sugar or something Maki? Because if you did…" Kagome asked Hanamaki, said third year flinching at the sight of Kagome's grey eyes staring him down and laughed it off.

"He's been like this since he found out you were coming. Wouldn't even pay attention in class." Iwaizumi replied.

"You're all he'd talk about. Ended up driving Iwaizumi over here insane." Hanamaki told Kagome.

"That's so like him." Kagome shook her head before heading over to Watari. Once she reached the libero, she had him move into a receiving stance before telling him how to position his arms to better receive the ball.

"I'm not sure I understand what you mean." Watari told Kagome, looking genuinely confused. Kagome clicked her tongue before telling Watari to watch her and had him back up.

"Tooru, serve me a couple." Oikawa's eyes lit up and he spun another ball in his hands, ready to throw it.

"Is she usually like that?" Watari asked Hanamaki as Oikawa threw the ball into the air.

"Like what?" Hanamaki watched Oikawa make contact with the volleyball, sending it spiraling towards Kagome.

"Somewhat distant." Watari replied.

"Yah. She was like that when we first met her too." Hanamaki said, gesturing to the other third years. "Don't worry though. She'll warm up to you eventually."

Watari turned back to watch Kagome just in time to see her perfect receive Oikawa's serve, stopping the rotation on the ball completely as it bounced off her forearms and onto the floor, rolling to a stop.

"She just... received Oikawa's spike perfectly." Watari was shocked. Looking at the other first and second years, they also looked shocked. The third years on the other hand were all grinning as they cheered for Kagome.

"How did you do that? I can't ever manage to receive those serves." Watari said, running up to Kagome in the middle of the court.

"Watch the path that the ball is coming at. Make sure that you're putting your body in its oncoming path. Push your forearms our more so that the ball hits the flatter side. Make sure to keep your arms level if you want the ball to go up. Once you get the hang of it, it will be easier, and you will be able to direct the serve to the setter or another teammate." Kagome told the libero.

"Won't the ball just bounce off my forearms to the other side of the court, seeing as it's hitting the flat part?" Watari asked as he motioned with his arms. Kagome came closer to him and took his arms in her hands. Watari blushed as Kagome moved his arms and showed him the motion that he should receive with.

"It will feel uncomfortable and Tooru's serves will hurt at first, since you're receiving them with a different angle of the arms. But it will help in the long run."

"Thank you so much Shirabu-senpai." Watari said, bowing to the girl.

"Don't need to add the senpai part. We're the same age." Watari stood back up and listened as Kagome gave him some tips before practicing with Oikawa.

"As always, you're receiving is top notch." Kagome felt a hand on her head. Looking up, she saw Matsukawa ruffling her hair.

"Leave my hair alone Matsu." Kagome moved his hand away but smiled at the compliment.

"And of course, my receiving is the best. Who do you think I am? Tooru?" Kagome replied. The third years burst into laughter as Oikawa's complains and whines could be heard from the court.

The rest of practice finished off smoothly and it came time for the boys to pack up and go home. Kagome has already changed back into her school uniform and was waiting for Oikawa, Iwaizumi, Matsukawa and Hanamaki to finish changing. Once all the boys had finished changing and came out, she turned to Watari who was walking with Yabaha.

"You're pretty good for someone who switched a year ago. Keep it up and you'll only get better. It takes time and effort, and I can tell you're putting in all you got." Kagome told the boy. Watari thanked her again and watched as she left with the group of third years. In the distance, the younger boys watched as the Hanamaki gave her a hug before Oikawa pulled her away, yelling about Maki touching his Tsuki-chan.

"Did she switch to libero? I'm not surprised if she did. She's gotten better since junior high, to be able to receive Oikawa's newer spikes." Watari turned to see Kindaichi and Kunimi walking behind him.

"Wait, she switched positions?" Yahaba asked, curious about the girl that had the captain wrapped around her finger.

"Looks like it. I didn't know she moved up a year, but when we were first years at Kitagawa Daichi, she was a starter for the girls' team and the captain during her third year. She might not look like it, but Kagome-senpai used be a setter. And she was a pretty damn good one." Kindaichi told them.

"Just like me. That's how she knew." Watari muttered before asking "Why did she switch from setter then?"

"I don't know. We didn't really see her much during our second year. But I recall overhearing that Kagome-senpai didn't end up playing in the Spring Tournament."

**ooo**

"Ah, Maki. Not fair. You can't steal all of the meat." Oikawa yelled as he grabbed the meat from Hanamaki's plate and ate it.

"Keep your voice down Oikawa or we're going to get kicked out." Iwaizumi said, slapping Oikawa over the head. The third years had gone to a local restaurant to eat out, and so that Iwaizumi could buy Kagome her promised oden. Smiling as Oikawa started up a conversation with Matsukawa, Iwaizumi looked across the table to where Kagome was sitting in between Hanamaki and Oikawa. She was calmly sipping the broth of her oden as she listened to the boys' conversations.

"How long are you staying in town for?" Hanamaki asked Kagome as he took a large mouthful of noodles.

"Till Sunday night. I have practice Monday morning and my coach said that she'd let me practice with the team starting then." Kagome replied as she set the empty oden bowl down and dabbed her mouth with a napkin.

"You should come and visit more often. It gets boring otherwise. Those two are our only source of amusement now-a-days." Hanamaki replied, gesturing with his chopsticks to the two arguing friends.

"Tooru, Hajime. Stop fighting. We're in a restaurant." Kagome said, ending the argument then and there. Matsu whistled as he saw the immediate change in his two friends. As annoying and loud those two could get, the only person who could shut them up was Kagome.

"Don't you have a practice match with our girls' team next week?" Matsukawa asked Kagome, who nodded.

"So do we. Thanks to Oikawa here." Matsukawa replied, patting Oikawa on the back.

"What about me? Oh, are you talking about how great of a setter I am Iwa-chan?" Oikawa felt Iwaizumi's burning holes in his head and laughed.

"We're talking about how you got the coach to set up a practice match with Karasuno." Matsukawa told Oikawa.

"Karasuno? Never heard of them before." Kagome said aloud as she raised her hand for a waitress to come by before ordering a slide of gyoza.

"They used to be a powerhouse school like ours but fell once all their good players left. But that's not the reason why we're having the match. Apparently, your little kouhai goes there and Oikawa insisted in a practice match." Hanamaki replied

"Kouhai?" Kagome muttered before turning to Iwaizumi for more information.

"Kageyama goes there. Oikawa found out and told the coach that he wanted a match with Karasuno with the condition that Kageyama plays at the setter the whole time." Iwaizumi explained.

"I have to beat my little kouhai, setter against setter, on the court now that he's at the same playing field as me." Oikawa said, as if that explained everything.

"The King, huh? Why is he going to Karasuno?" Kagome asked. She knew that Kageyama would be scouted, his skills as the genius setter were rather well known among the middle school courts, but to go to a non-powerhouse school was a surprise.

"Who knows? But I can't wait to play him, right Iwa-chan?" Oikawa replied, before looking in Kagome's direction and asked "Can you practice with me tomorrow? I want to perfect my serves and make sure they're un-receivable." Kagome nodded before biting into the gyoza that the waitress has set on the table.

"Count me in. I need to fix my spike aiming. I almost took out one of the first years today when I put too much power into it." Matsukawa joked. Soon, the other two third years had joined in for practice tomorrow, with Iwaizumi only joining to make sure none of them pushed themselves too much.

"Tsuki-chan, why don't you just move to Seijou with us?" Oikawa whined, as he pulled the girl into a hug. Kagome patted his arm as if to console him, before rejecting the notion.

"We've been over this Tooru. Besides, aren't we going to take the exams to go to Tokyo University together?" Kagome replied.

"Of course. The three of us are going to be together forever." Oikawa grinned. Iwaizumi looked up as if he was praying to Kami-sama and Hanamaki had to hold in his laughter. Once the group finished eating, they paid for the food and headed out of the restaurant. Seeing as the four boys lived within the same neighborhood area, they walked together, dropping Matsukawa off at his house first. As they made their way down the next street, they came up to Oikawa's house. Kagome followed Oikawa towards the door, seeing as she was spending the weekend at his place, when Iwaizumi's voice called out to them.

"You two had better not practice anymore tonight. Kagome, don't even think about picking up another volleyball. Take it easy or else..." Iwaizumi said, staring his two childhood friends down.

"Hai hai Hajime. I'll see you tomorrow. Good night." Kagome said before walking up to Oikawa's front door and opened it. The three boys still standing outside could hear Oikawa's mom and dad greeting Kagome as the girl walked into the house.

"She had pressure bandages on her wrist during practice today. Her injury might be acting up again. Make sure she doesn't push herself and have her ice her wrist." Iwaizumi told Oikawa before walking off with Hanamaki. He could hear Oikawa yelling 'bye Iwa-chan' in the distance before he headed into his house.

"Did her therapist even clear her for playing again?" Hanamaki asked as the two walked down the dim-lit street, passing by street lamps and other strangers walking around.

"They said she could do some light practice to warm her hands up but to come in for a consult before playing in a match of any kind. If she pushes it too much, she could possibly lose part of her wrist function."

**ooo**

Oikawa took Kagome upstairs and let her change her clothes while he set up her futon. Kagome had changed into a pair of shorts and a shirt, before coming out of the bathroom. Oikawa was lying down on his futon with his phone in hand, having changed into his nightwear. Hearing footsteps, Oikawa turned to see Kagome walked towards the futon that was lying next to his.

"Hajime and Maki get home safely?" Kagome asked as she sat on her futon. Oikawa nodded as he set his phone aside before turning to Kagome, sitting up in the process.

"Is your wrist okay? I caught you wincing earlier when you were helping Watachi." Oikawa asked, taking Kagome's left wrist in his hand and rubbing his thumb over the bandage. Kagome had taken off the pressure bandage and put a simple white bandage over her wrist.

"Just feels a little numb. Someone bumped into it when I was on the train. Don't worry about it. I look my meds for it." Kagome replied, looking Oikawa in the eye. Oikawa stared her in the eye, reading her emotions. Kagome looked away before staring down her wrist once more.

"Having heard it from the therapist, I knew it was going to be risky. He said that if I wasn't careful, I could lose almost all function of my wrist temporarily. But you know…" Oikawa let Kagome talk, knowing that it was the best way for her to get her emotions out.

"After the session ended, we were getting ready to head out. I had left my phone in the office, so I went to go back for it when I heard my therapist talking about me to another doctor." Small tears began to fall down Kagome's face as she continued, "He said that it would be lucky if I gained part of my wrist function back at all. That it could be permanent if I injured my wrist again."

Oikawa grabbed Kagome's waist and pulled her into his chest, hugging her tightly as he sat her in his lap. Kagome dug her head into his neck and kept going on. "What am I going to do Tooru? I can't lose my wrist function. It's my last year. I can't bail on my team like I did in Kitagawa Daichi. I can't lose any more." Kagome whimpered as she cried into Oikawa's neck. Oikawa couldn't say anything. He didn't know what to say, so he sat there holding his childhood friend in his lap.

"Your therapist said it was risky if you got injured right? Then we just have to make sure that you don't overdo it." Oikawa told her in a soft voice. Kagome's crying had died down, but she still clung to Oikawa like he was her lifeline. Oikawa pulled back slightly to see Kagome's grey orbs silently leaking tears. Taking his thumbs, he wiped away her tears, kissing her on the forehead before tucking her back into his neck.

"Remember the times that we would play in the playground when we were kids. And you would cry every time you fell. Iwa-chan and I were there to pick you up then. And we don't plan on stopping. We'll be there by your side, okay Tsuki-chan?" Oikawa said, as he stroked his fingers through Kagome's hair. Not hearing anything from Kagome, he looked down to see that Kagome had fallen asleep, a small smile gracing her lips. Smiling, Oikawa kept the girl in his arms and lied down, pulling the covers over them and fell asleep.

The weekend flew by quickly, with the group of friends practicing volleyball most of the weekend in preparation for the Inter-High. Oikawa told Iwaizumi about her breakdown Friday night, and Iwaizumi made sure to keep a close eye on the girl. The two made sure that Kagome did minimal practice, mostly making sure that she was keeping her wrist in the pressure bandage and iced. Oikawa managed to overwork himself, causing him to slightly sprain his ankle. That led to another bout of Iwaizumi's yelling as Oikawa was sent home with Kagome to make sure that he tended to his foot. Sunday evening, Kagome headed back for Sendai with the boys sending her off, and Oikawa whining that he had to keep his foot in the multiple bandages that Iwaizumi had wrapped earlier.

**ooo**

Tendo was reclining on Shirabu's bed while the boy had just left to take a shower. Flicking through his book, he paused when he heard the apartment's front door unlock. Hearing Kagome's voice filter through the door, he closed the textbook sitting in his lap and walked out into the hall to see Kagome slipping off her shoes, dropping her school bag on the counter. Tendo leaned on the wall as Kagome went walked into the small kitchen area and set the kettle to boil some water.

Seeing the grogginess in her eyes, Tendo pushed away from the wall and went up to the small girl. Gently pulling the girl towards him, he slowly walked her to her room where he told her to get changed and he would make her tea. Moments later, footsteps padded down the hallway and Kagome walked back into the kitchen, dressed in an oversized shirt she had stolen from her brother's closet long ago and a pair of shorts.

"Where's Kei?" Kagome asked as she grabbed the cup of tea in front of her, thanking Tendo in the process.

"In the shower. He just went in. Welcome back. You're rather late aren't ya?" Tendo said, glancing at the second bag on the floor that had practice clothes spilling out.

"Tooru didn't want me to leave as usual." Kagome replied. She blew into the cup before sipping the tea slowly. Tendo reached over and prodded at the area on her arms to make sure that it hadn't bruised or anything. Heavens forbid, if Kagome got a bruise from something other than volleyball, he wouldn't be able to stop Shirabu.

"Are you going to head to sleep now?" Kagome had gotten up to wash the tea cup and put it back with the set. Grabbing the few dishes that were in the sink, she began to stack them in the dishwasher, wincing as she felt a stab of pain in her wrist. Masking her pain, she continued to stack the dishwasher.

"I have some math homework to finish, so I'll be heading to my room." Kagome told Tendo once the machine was turned on.

"Come to Kenjiro's room. He'll be in the shower for a while. It's lonely in there." Tendo told her.

"I'm sure you'll manage on your own for a couple more minutes Tendo." Kagome replied as she grabbed her bag from the floor.

"You can go back to your room after he comes out." Tendo grabbed Kagome's bag from her hands and walked off towards Shirabu's room, forcing Kagome to follow if she wanted to do her homework. Once they were both in the room, Kagome grabbed her bag and set it on her brother's table before taking out her lecture notes and papers. Sitting down on the ground, she grabbed a pencil from her brother's table and began on her homework. It was quiet in the room, with the sounds of pencil scratching on paper and the flipping of pages echoing in the room.

At some point, Shirabu had come out of the shower into the room, decked in boxers and a white shirt when he paused at the scene in front of him. Kagome was doing her homework at his desk while his boyfriend was reading a book while occasionally watching over his sister.

"When did you get back?" Hearing Shirabu's voice, Tendo lowered his book to see his boyfriend come in, as Kagome responded.

"Not too long ago. Tooru's mom made me dinner, so I don't need any." Kagome said, as she packed her homework and slid it into her bag. Nodding to her brother and his boyfriend, she slipped past her brother and headed to her room across the hall.

"Is she doing okay?" Tendo asked as he set his book down and grabbed Shirabu's hand in his, playing with his fingers.

"Lately, she's been doing better though. She's got a practice match with Seijou next Thursday, so she's going to the therapist to see if she's cleared to play in a match on Wednesday." Shirabu replied and rested his head on his boyfriend's shoulder.

"We went to them last weekend to see how her treatment was going. They're letting her do light practice again, but she's going to have to continue therapy for her wrist." Shirabu replied. "They said that if she pushes it too much, she may never gain full function of her wrist." Neither boy said anything after that. The words Shirabu said hit Tendo and the red head didn't know how to console his boyfriend. Shirabu being a setter didn't make it any better seeing as he would be playing the one position that his sister could possibly never play again.

"I see. Go to sleep Kenjiro. It's late. I'll see you at practice tomorrow." Tendo said, brushing his lips gently on Shirabu's before standing up off the bed.

"You know, you can stay Satori. I don't mind." Shirabu said as he went to go turn the lights off.

"Are you sure? Or is it that you're going to miss me too much to let me leave?" Tendo teased, grinning as a faint pink hue spread across Shirabu's cheeks.

"Urasai." With that the two fell asleep in Shirabu's bed. It wasn't long that Tendo had been lying in bed when he heard the sound of something falling on the ground. Cracking his eyes open, he looked to his side to see Shirabu fast asleep in his arms. Hearing a faint voice, Tendo slowly slipped out of the bed, careful not jostle his boyfriend before leaving the room and following the sound to the kitchen. When he got there, the lights were on and Kagome was standing next to the refrigerator with an icepack in her hand.

"Are you okay?" Tendo asked as he walked into the room.

"I'm fine." Kagome replied, holding the icepack on her wrist. Tendo looked over at the sink and noticed a partially full glass of water and a bottle of pills on the counter.

"Did you push it too much during your practice at Seijou?" Tendo asked her in a gentle voice.

"Not really." Kagome replied. Tendo sighed and put his fingers under Kagome's chin and tilted her head up to face him.

"Are you sure you didn't push yourself?" Tendo repeated. Kagome stared at him for a couple seconds, not sure whether to tell or keep up her image.

"You know you can trust me, right? I know I can be annoying and loud at times, but you know that you can count on me, right?" Tendo asked Kagome, still speaking while looking her in the eye. Kagome sighed, shifting her fingers over the white bandage on her wrist.

"Someone bumped into it on the train on Friday. Tooru and Hajime figured out pretty quick during practice and had me not doing anything for most of the weekend. I'm just icing it to make sure that it doesn't get worse, so I can play tomorrow in practice." Kagome replied.

"Does it hurt a lot now?" Tendo asked, gesturing to the ice in her hand and pills on the counter.

"Not anymore than usual. I'll probably put on the cast for the night and take it off for practice tomorrow. That should help it." Kagome replied in all honesty, giving the red head a gentle smile. Tendo nodded before pulling Kagome into a small hug, this time Kagome not protesting, before setting Kagome off towards her room.

"Let's go get some sleep then, huh? Class is tomorrow. And I don't need Shirabu seeing any black rings and thinking that I had a late-night affair." Tendo grinned, lightening the mood up a bit. Kagome bit back a laugh as she smiled at the red head's jokes. Once she had opened her room door and was about to close it, she turned around.

**ooo**

"She already left?" Shirabu muttered as he grabbed his bag and straightened his uniform. Tendo was already standing next to the apartment door, ready to leave. The two exited the apartment, locking the door behind them and slowly made their way to Shiratorizawa. Once they had gotten there, they headed to the locked room to change before going into the gym.

"Where's Kagome-senpai?" Goshiki asked as Shirabu joined him on the court. Shirabu shrugged his shoulders as he sat on the ground.

"Why?" Shirabu replied, as he did a couple stretches for his legs.

"I had some questions about my serves and was going to ask her." Goshiki told Shirabu as grabbed a ball from the basket before doing a couple small tosses with his hand to stretch his fingers and wrist.

"She's probably at her practice now. Unlike some people, she's the captain of her team and needs to go to every practice." Shirabu ribbed, bringing up the one day that Goshiki skipped due to the flu.

"Urasai." Goshiki blushed before heading over to practice spiking.

"Satori! Put your hands up for blocks." Tendo, who had been standing on the court unmoving, flinched as he heard the Coach yell.

"Roger." Tendo replied as he slunk back into position and began practicing with the other members

Meanwhile in the other gym, the girls' team was huddled up around their Coach.

"Ladies, as you know, we have a practice match with Seijou next week. I expect everyone to be well rested and not injured for it." The Coach said, staring Kagome in the eye.

"Hai hai Coach." Kagome replied, the younger girls around her giggling at their banter.

"Don't give me that. I saw that cast on your arm this morning. If your therapist doesn't give me a note that you're cleared to play in matches, don't expect to play on Thursday." Kagome nodded. The Coach went on to talk about a few more things before letting Kagome take over the reins.

"Okay. We've only got two weeks before the Inter-High starts. And we are going to continue our reign of the court." Kagome said. A tanned arm slipped around her shoulder and she turned to face her best friend from Kitagawa Daichi and her vice-captain, Sango.

"We are Shiratorizawa, the pride of Sendai. And we are going to rise to the top once again and claim the courts. So let's go kick some ass." Cheers erupted from the rest of the volleyball team as they began to part off to practice.

"How is the wrist?" Sango asked as she began to stretch her arms and legs. Kagome grabbed the pressure bandage and tightened it slightly before turning to Sango.

"Feeling better. I have an appointment on Wednesday after practice to see whether I can play in matches." Kagome replied before heading on to the court with Sango. The team had split up and was now about to start a mock match amongst themselves.

"Don't push yourself too much or it's not gonna get better." Kagome nodded as she got into position. Seeing as she hadn't been cleared to play setter, she let their second-year setter play and fell back into a libero position.

"Let's go!" The girls fell into position and the first year served the ball, sending it to the other side.

**ooo**

Kagome knew that if she wanted to play setter again, she would need permission from her therapist. But she really didn't want to go. She looked up at the tall building with dread, wondering if it was possible for her to forge a doctor's note.

"Come on." Turning her head slightly, she saw her brother pull ahead and opened the door for her. Walking inside the building, the twins made their way up to the 4th floor and headed into the therapy clinic's waiting room.

"Hi. How can I help you?" The lady setting behind the counter asked as Kagome walked up to her.

"I'm here for an appointment with Dr. Saito. My names Shirabu Kagome." Kagome said and waited while the lady pulled up the information. Once she had, she gave Kagome a slip of paper for her to sign before telling the younger girl that the doctor would come get her.

"Shirabu Kagome?" Kagome raised her head to see her therapist looking at her. The man smiled before gesturing for the two siblings to come with him to his office. Once they were situated in the room, he pulled out his chair and sat in it before turning to Kagome.

"How are you doing Shirabu-san?" The doctor asked, nodding towards Kagome's still bandaged hand.

"I'm fine. The pain isn't there unless I push it a little far." Kagome replied as she pulled off the pressure bandage. The doctor took Kagome's wrist in his hand and began to push gently on the different areas of the wrist, checking to see if the bones were growing the way they were supposed to.

"Does it hurt anywhere when I push on it?" Kagome shook her head. Nodding, the doctor pulled up her scans from last weekend.

"These are the scans we took of your left wrist two weeks ago. The bones are all in the right position and it looks like you are regaining motion of your wrist. Do you see this gap right here?" The doctor asked, pointing to the area in between the scaphoid and radius.

"The two bones are normally supposed to be connected with tendons and ligaments entwined, but due to your incident, only part of the damage was repaired. Grab this and see if you can use it." The doctor handed Kagome a small instrument. Wrapping the straps around her wrist and fingers, she held her hand out and began to curl her wrist, moving her fingers into a fist and out.

"It seems like your body has recovered around your injury, taking it into account. Seeing as your able to use that without any pain, we can clear you for playing in matches. However, I do want stress the risk of injuring your wrist again. If you manage to injure your wrist again, there is a high possibility that you will not regain all function after." Kagome nodded. Seeing that they had discussed everything, and the check-up was done, the doctor printed out and signed Kagome's medical leave paper, stating that she could go back to matches.

The next afternoon, once the final bell rang, Kagome headed to the girl's locker room to change into her volleyball practice clothes. Taking off of the white bandage, she strapped the pressure bandage on before grabbing her jacket and headed for the main entrance. A coach bus was waiting to take the Girls' Volleyball Team to Seijou, and the Coach was standing at the entrance of the bus, taking roll of who was on board. Most of the girls had already boarded the bus, having stored their bags in the overhead spacing. As Kagome walked to the bus, the Coach held out a hand, so she handed over the doctors note she had gotten yesterday.

"You're good to go." The Coach smiled before marking Kagome on the chart and shooing her into the bus. As Kagome climbed into the bus, she saw the large smiles and grins as the girls realized that their captain was back from medical leave.

"Our captains back!" Sango cheered as Kagome took a seat next to her, placing her volleyball bag in the overhead storage.

"Did you think I would be gone long? Please, the team would have died under your watch if that happened." Kagome retorted, elbowing Sango slightly as the couple girls around them giggled.

"How did it go? I didn't see you this morning at practice." Sango asked as the Coach stepped on board and told the driver that he could go.

"He said that I would have to be careful not injure my wrist again. I was practicing late last night, and Coach told me to rest for the match today when I went to talk with her in the morning." Kagome replied, turning to look outside the window at the passing scenery.

"Are you going to be playing for the whole match today?" One of the other third years asked. Kagome shrugged, as the small group of girls around her started up a conversation. Kagome was glad that none of the third years were mad or upset with having a girl younger than them as the captain. Looking back out the window, she noticed that they had left the city and were slowly on their way to Aoba Jousai High School. Letting her head rest against the back of the chair, Kagome closed her eyes and fell asleep.

**ooo**

A ray had settled on Kagome's face, causing thee girl to scrunch her face before opening her eyes slightly. Her head had somehow gone from resting on her chair's headrest to Sango's shoulder, who was quietly talking with their official libero. Lifting her head off Sango's shoulder, she brushed her hand through her raven hair before stretching her limbs.

"Just in time. We're almost there." Sango told Kagome as the girl's grey orbs stared back under hooded eyes. Nodding, Kagome sat back and listened in on her teammate's conversations, talking every so often. The bus soon came to halt and Kagome looked out the window to see a familiar building.

"Wake up girls. Off the bus, let's go." Grabbing their bags, the girls got off the bus and began to follow their Coach to the gym. They were met with the coach of Seijou's girls' team, who directed them to the girl's locker room to change.

Kagome led the pack to the locker room as their coach went into the gym with Seijou's to discuss whatever matters needed to be attended to. The girls entered the room and headed over to the benches before getting their practice gear on. Once Kagome had gotten ready, she checked herself in the mirror, making sure that she looked the part. Shiratorizawa's volleyball practice uniform consisted of a maroon shirt with their school name on the left corner and black shorts that hugged her legs. Once she deemed herself ready, she headed out of the locker room to see the Seijou boys' team cleaning up the court for their use.

"How did it go?" Kagome asked as she walked up to Hanamaki, Matsukawa and Iwaizumi. Hanamaki grinned when he saw Kagome and gave her a small wave.

"They won. Oikawa had to go get his sprain checked out because he overdid it again, so when he got back, he was only subbed in as the pinch server." Matsukawa replied.

"Where is he anyways?" Kagome asked. Iwaizumi dragged a hand on his face as a tick mark continued to throb on his forehead.

"Probably off bullying Karasuno."

**ooo**

"Spoken like a true captain. You know your stuff." The Karasuno team looked ahead to see Oikawa leaning against the brick wall.

"What you do want? Want to fight?" Tanaka approached Oikawa, with Hinata tagging along behind.

"Don't be so hostile." Oikawa waved his hand, having stood up straight off the wall, before placing a hand on his waist.

"You, little one. Your last one-touch and broad attack were amazing." Hinata rubbed the back of his, flustered that he was being complimented by the 'Grand King'.

"Let's give it all we got the next time, right from the start. You didn't get to see our official set up. Oh yes, and we'll be improving our serves, too." Oikawa told the other team. Both Hinata and Tsukishima flinched slightly, having saw Oikawa's serves first hand.

"It's true, your offense was amazing, but our receives aren't polished. You'll reach your limit very quickly. I'm not the only one who hits powerful serves." Oikawa said as he started walking towards them, on course back to the gym.

"The Inter-High preliminaries are coming up soon. Don't get eliminated, okay?" Oikawa said, having made his way to stand in front of Kageyama and pointed a finger at him.

"The receives will train." Hinata yelled back, grabbing Tsukishima's arm, who was telling the orange-head to let go.

"Receivers don't improve overnight. Ask your captain. He should know." Oikawa told Hinata before turning around to face the Karasuno team. Just as Oikawa went to talk again, a voice cut him off.

"Tooru, what are you doing?" Oikawa turned and eyes slightly widened at the sight. Kagome was standing in front of him with her practice wear on for her match without the knee pads. But what caught his eye was the large white and aqua 'Aoba Jousai' sports jacket she had on.

"Tsuki-chan?" Oikawa couldn't really think after he saw the jacket, wondering which of his teammates' it was.

"Hajime told me you were bullying them. Honestly, what am I going to do with you?" Kagome asked she walked up to Oikawa, noticing that the Karasuno team had turned their attention to her.

"Ho, if it isn't the King himself." Kagome said, standing next to Oikawa, as she stared right at Kageyama.

"Do you know each other?" Daichi asked Kageyama who nodded. While he didn't know her too well, he did recognize her from junior high.

"We'll be taking our leave." Kagome said to the Karasuno team as she turned away, heading back to the gym for her practice match.

"The Inter-Highs are just around the corner. Do try to make it there." The Karasuno team watched as Oikawa turned around and ran after Kagome, grabbing her hand and walking together to the gym.

"Who is she? And why is she with him?" Tanaka asked Kageyama, wanting to know who the grey-eyed beauty was and why she was with Oikawa.

"Shirabu-san. She was my senpai back at Kitagawa Daichi and the captain of the girls' volleyball team." Kageyama said watching the two walking in the distance.

"It looks like she goes here. Not too surprising I guess." Sugawara said as they turned back and headed to their bus. However, Tsukishima didn't seem to think so.

"Are you okay Tsuki?" Yamaguchi asked, seeing the pondering look on his friend's face.

'That jacket. It seemed too big for her. Was it really hers?' Tsukishima thought, nodding to Yamaguchi, as they caught up with the rest of their team.

**ooo**

"By the way, why are you wearing an Aoba Jousai jacket?"

"Ah, Maki wouldn't let me leave without it."

"Huh, what kind of explanation is that?" Oikawa grumbled as they walked into the gym. The Seijou's girls' team was warming up while Shiratorizawa's team was huddled around their Coach.

"Are you jealous Tooru?" Kagome gave him a look. Oikawa pouting as Kagome's slipped her hand out of his. Smiling, Kagome took off Maki's jacket and handed it to Oikawa, telling the boy to give it to the pink-haired boy when he saw him.

"Next time give me yours then." Oikawa gave Kagome a strange look, to which Kagome sighed. Her childhood friend may be the guy girls squealed over, but he really didn't have any idea what went through their heads.

"I'm coming to watch your games during Inter-High when I don't have my games, aren't I?" Kagome asked. Oikawa nodded, still kind of lost.

"I'll wear your jacket then. So make sure to give it to me." Oikawa's eyes shined as he grinned, hugging the girl tightly, this time Kagome reciprocating the act.

"Honestly, you're such a baby Tooru." Kagome told him once he let her go to go warm up with her team.

"Oikawa, why do you have my jacket? Did Kagome give it to you?" Oikawa spun around to see his friends waiting for him.

"Obviously. What are you guys waiting for?" Oikawa asked, handing Hanamaki's jacket back to him.

"Coach is making us run. Let's go. You're making us late, Crappy Oikawa." Iwaizumi said before running out of the gym, followed by Oikawa, Matsukawa and Hanamaki as they began to catch up with the rest of the team.

"And next time, don't go harassing other freshmen Trashykawa." Oikawa pouted as Iwaizumi shot another insult back at him.

"Don't shorten the insults."

"Trashy Oikawa!"

"You don't have to rephrase it either."

**ooo**


	2. Chapter 2

**And we're back with another chapter. Wow, I can't believe that it's been a month already. Once again, none of the anime's characters belong to me, all rights to their respectful owners except the OCs. Special thanks to the Banshee for editing this for me. Hope you like the chapter. Enjoy and review.**

**ooo**

_Kagome didn't know what to say. This just had to be karma. She didn't know what she did wrong, but this must be the backlash from having to deal with Sango's trouble-making all the time. It didn't help that her ears were ringing from the ear-piercing scream that was let out, or the fact that there were a pair of emerald green eyes staring her down. These past few days weren't really in her favor, were they?_

**ooo**

"Is everyone done?" Kagome asked Sango as she finished changing out of her practice wear. Sango nodded, and the two headed out of the changing rooms with her bags to see their coach waiting for them with the rest of their team.

"We've been invited to a training camp with Itachiyama." Kagome's eyes widened. Itachiyama… inviting them for a training camp? The idea was unheard of, especially since they hadn't beaten Itachiyama at Nationals during Inter-High.

"Um, Coach, what… what did you say?" Sango couldn't form the words, and none of the other girls were able to voice their shock.

"Itachiyama sent over a formal request to invite the girls' volleyball team for their training camp this weekend. It's a little close to the Inter-High than I would like, but nonetheless, we have accepted it. I expect all of you to get your permission slips signed by your family and brought this Friday."

"Wait, why did they invite us? They've never done that before." One of the non-starting third years asked.

"Like I have any idea. They might have been interested in this year's team and want to check out the competition." The Coach said, waving her hand towards their starting members. She wrapped up their meeting and sent the girls off to their first classes, each with a permission slip in hand.

"Itachiyama sent _us_ a request to join their training camp? Seriously?" Sango asked once the starting members had met up for lunch in the school's gardens.

"We're still talking about _the _Itachiyama right? Reigning champs?"

"I'm surprised as well. I didn't think we would be invited by them of all people. Why do you think they did?" Mirai, their third-year libero asked.

"Not sure. But whatever the reason is, we'll be able to practice with the reigning champions. Best not waste that experience." Kagome replied, picking out an octopus-cut sausage from her lunch and popping it in to her mouth.

"We're going to beat Itachiyama at this year's Inter-High. They'd best be ready." Sango cheered, pumping her fist into the air.

"That is, unless we get crushed." Rin, their second-year wing spiker cut in. The other girls sweat-dropped as Sango began to whine about her negative attitude.

"At the very least, we'll be able to learn and experience their new tricks. It shouldn't take me too long to put something together." Kagome cut the two girls' petty argument.

"Ya know, sometimes you scare me when you get like this." Sango mumbled before pulling Kagome into a hug. "But this is why I love having you on my side of the court." Kagome's lips turned up into a small smile, before looking at the rest of her friends.

"We're going to dominate Nationals. This time."

**ooo**

It wasn't long before Friday afternoon came. Once practice had ended for the day, all the girls went to the changing room to shower and change into more comfortable wear for their trip south to Itachiyama.

Once Kagome had finished showering, she toweled herself off before slipping on a pair of comfortable shorts and a Shiratorizawa sweater. She put her uniform back into her carry-on bag and waited till the last couple girls were done changing before walking with them to the bus.

"Okay, the ride is going to be about five hours long. Please keep in mind that some people will be sleeping and too keep the volume at an appropriate level." The Coach said, giving Sango a death stare, to which said girl laughed.

The bus began to pull away from Shiratorizawa. As their school faded away in the distance, Kagome leaned back in her seat, ignoring Sango's ongoing conversation with Mirai and Rin, and pulled out her phone. Unlocking her phone, she opened the group chat that Tendo had added her to and let them know that she was leaving.

Immediately, her phone began to ring with Tendo's contact flashing on the screen. Apologizing to Sango, Kagome slipped out of her seat and headed back to an empty row and sat down before answering the phone.

"What do you need?" Kagome said into the phone.

"Why do you always think I need or want something?" Tendo's voice whined to Kagome.

"Because you either end up doing something stupid or need something." Kagome replied bluntly, hearing the faint laughing of whoever was with Tendo.

"Not true. Anyways, you're on your way to Itachiyama aren't ya?" Tendo asked. Kagome replied with a yes.

"Take care. Have fun. Don't go flirting with the boys' team or I'll give them a – ouch. You don't have to hit me Kenjiro." Tendo's voice screeched out as the sound of a slap came echoing through the phone.

"Ignore him. Actually, no. Don't go doing whatever he said. Be safe. Don't go looking for trouble." Shirabu told his sister.

"Trouble finds me. I happen to like my life as it is." Kagome replied with a smile. The two spent a few minutes talking, with Tendo's frequent interruptions, before she let her brother off to hang with his boyfriend. As she was saying goodbye, she could hear her brother telling Tendo off about it being his job as her brother in warding off boys. Shaking her head, she pocketed her phone and headed back to her seat.

Sango had fallen asleep in the short amount of time that she was gone, and her head was leaning dangerously to the side, almost as if it had been snapped. Slipping into her seat, as if it was telepathic, Sango reached out blindly and grabbed Kagome's hand in hers and her head fell on the ravenette's shoulder.

"Why is she so tired now?" Kagome asked Mirai, who was texting away on her phone.

"She said something along the lines of staying awake at night and having fun. To be honest, I lost her after some point." Mirai shrugged. Sango grumbled before turning her head into Kagome's shoulder and moved around, trying to get comfortable.

"She's like a cat. A very annoying one." Rin commented from the seat diagonal to them. Kagome nodded, agreeing with Rin.

"One with sharp claws too. And bites. Why don't we ship her off to Nekoma?" Mirai laughed out, causing the girls around her to laugh aloud.

"Itachiyama isn't far from Nekoma. Shall we take a detour and drop her off?" Kagome nodded along with the idea, hoping for some peace and quiet for the weekend instead of the trouble that Sango would end up dragging her into.

"Why do I have the feeling that she is going to rope us into her trouble-making?" A simultaneous groan echoed from the second and third years, making the freshmen wonder what was wrong. Kagome sighed, dreading getting to Itachiyama already. Being friends with Sango since Kitagawa Daichi, she learned the hard way that her friend was stubborn like no other, almost too much for her own good.

"If we get in trouble from Coach, we can serve Sango to her on a silver platter." Rin suggested the idea, and it seemed like the other third years around them agreed.

"Shall we open the betting pool again?" Mirai began to take bets on how long it would take before the Coach found out about Sango's nightly excursions.

"Put me down for tomorrow night."

"Ooo, I call Sunday morning."

"Shall we all pray and hope we don't die?"

"God, I don't know what I did in the past, but I want you to know. Whatever happens this weekend, it was all Sango's fault. Please don't blame me." Mirai pressed her hands together and looked up, causing the girls to let out a bout of soft laughter, keeping their voices down so that the others sleeping wouldn't wake up.

"You know, it's a wonder she doesn't wake up from all this noise. She's literally knocked out, practically a rock." Rin said, poking at Sango's arm.

"She's always been like this." Kagome replied, letting go of Sango's hand and turning the light above her head off. Around her, the younger girls were chatting amongst themselves about their classes and about the upcoming weekend excursion. Kagome felt Sango move on her shoulder as the girl moved into a more comfortable position, while she was talking with Mirai about the upcoming volleyball season.

Most of the girls had fallen asleep sometime during the ride, some were reading and others quietly talking with their seat neighbors. Sango was still passed on Kagome's shoulder, with said girl listening to music as she looked out the window. The earlier evening sky was now pitch black. As her eyes began to droop, she saw the clouds give way to scattered stars in the sky. The twinkling lights in the sky was the last thing she saw before she fell asleep. It didn't feel like a long time had passed before the bus had finally reached Itachiyama.

"Ladies. Wake up, we've arrived. Let's get inside and you can sleep all you want." Kagome heard grumbles come from her teammates as she began to wake up. Looking around blearily, she noticed that they were parked right outside the entrance of Itachiyama. Sango was awake and chatting with Mirai, both girls looking somewhat refreshed from the couple hours of sleep they got just now. Kagome grabbed her earbuds that had fallen on to her lap and coiled them around her phone. Once she had stretched a bit, she slid out of her seat area and walked down the aisle, getting off the bus. When the rest of the girls had gotten off the bus and unloaded their bags, the bus drove off to park in the parking lot. The girls headed up the steps to their room.

"Why are we sleeping in the school again? We could have easily stayed at a nearby hotel." Rin grumbled as they began to walk through the academy grounds, her bag slung over her shoulder.

"It was a last-minute thing so they might not have had enough room for all of us. Besides, this way is more fun." Sango chirped out. Some of the other girls who looked half asleep gave her annoyed looks due to her peppiness.

"Sango, calm down." Kagome said and Sango immediately quieted down. The younger girls sent Kagome thankful glances as they finally arrived at the room that they would be sleeping in.

"Unpack and get changed here. The showers and bathrooms are just down the hall if you need them. I will be with the other coaches, so I expect you all to be on your best behavior." The Coach told them before heading down the hall to the other side of the building where the coaches were staying. One by one the girls crowded into the room and began to settle down for the night. Futons had already been laid out with a blanket folded on each one. Sango grabbed the futon closest the window, promptly dragging Kagome along with her. Kagome sat down on the futon next to Sango, followed by Mirai and Rin who had taken the futons on the other side of Kagome.

"Let's do something. I'm bored." Sango whined to Kagome, who had changed into a pair of night clothes before slipping under her blanket.

"You do realize that they're going to wake us in the morning for a day of grueling practice, right?" One of the other girls asked, not surprised that Sango had energy to spare.

"She doesn't. Her brain must have left her head during her nap on the bus." Rin told Mirai as the girl set an alarm on her phone and fell asleep.

"It did not." Sango stuck her tongue out at Rin. "Training camps are meant for night time fun, don't you know that?"

"Kagome…." Sango whined as she rolled on to her side and stared at Kagome with puppy eyes. Kagome sighed, wondering whether she would be getting a break from this or not during their training camp.

"We can do something tomorrow night. For now, let everyone get some rest. It's been a tiring day." Kagome said, to the relief of the rest of the room who was trying to sleep. She gave Sango a good stare, who took Kagome's words in and nodded, before rolling over to sleep. One of the third years near the light switch turned the lights off and the room went dark as the girls fell asleep.

**ooo**

"25-22 Itachiyama." The referee called the game. Kagome huffed, blowing her hair out of her eyes, before going to shake the other captain's hand. Once the two teams had bowed to each other, Kagome lead her team outside where they would be doing their punishment of 5 suicide runs.

"This is torture. When are we gonna win one damn set?" Sango gritted her teeth as she pushed her muscles through the last suicide. Beside her, the rest of the team stood in an array as some of the girls collapsed after the suicides.

"This was our fifth game. Don't worry. We're almost there." One of the other second-years told Sango, helping her stretch her aching muscles. Kagome bent down to retie her shoes before lightly stretching her arms and legs.

"Do we have any videos on Itachiyama's games?" Kagome asked Rin, who nodded her head.

"I managed to get some before coming here." Rin replied. Once the girls were done cooling down, they headed back into the gym to see the other games finishing up. The college team had decimated Itachiyama's team 25-17, while Shiratorizawa's other team had managed to pull a win from Inarizaki.

"You have an hour lunch break before we convene for training again. Dismissed." With the Itachiyama coach's words, the group of girls split up as they headed for the cafeteria. Once they got there, they got in lines as the managers of the teams brought out the food. Kagome and Sango sat down at a table close to the windows once they had gotten their food and began to eat, while the other girls had gone off with other groups and teams to chat.

"Hey, you're a setter, right?" Kagome set her chopsticks down and looked to the side to see a spiker from Itachiyama staring her down.

"Yes, why do you ask?" Kagome asked.

"A couple of us are getting together after training to practice some. Come set some volleyballs for us?" Sango wanted to cut in, but Kagome's sharp look in her direction cut her off.

"Why not ask your own setter?"

"Our setter doesn't like excess training, so she tends to dip out early. So, what do ya say?" Kagome pondered on the question.

"I don't mind, but what's in it for me?" Kagome stretched her lips into a dangerous smirk. Itachiyama's spiker managed to flinch slightly at the look on Kagome's face before regaining her posture. A stifled laugh came from Sango as she excused herself from the table. As she looked back, she couldn't help but think that the situation was like a predator waiting for the prey to move before pouncing.

"Hmm, well practice with the reigning champs of Nationals for one? That, and I'm pretty sure practice with various spikers will help improve your skill? You did end up taking your senpai's position after all." The girl told Kagome.

"Sure. Sounds like fun. Let me know where you end up practicing." Kagome smoothly replied, holding out her hand. The older girl took Kagome's hand and shook it, the two measuring the others' strength before letting go. Once she had left, Sango came back to the table with Mirai and Rin, who had seen the confrontation and wanted to hear about it.

"Rin. Make sure to send me those videos later on today. I'll be watching them tonight." Kagome told Rin before biting into her chicken salad.

"What happened once I left?" Sango mumbled as she began to finish up the rest of her lunch.

"She told me that I should improve my skill because I took my senpai's position." Kagome replied.

"Did Itachiyama sign a death wish?" Mirai whispered to Rin and Sango, who both shrugged their shoulders. Once Kagome had finished her lunch, she grabbed Sango's empty tray and headed over to where the managers were standing.

"They do know who she is right?" Sango asked, almost worried for the Itachiyama team.

"No, I don't think they do. Which is a good thing." Rin told them.

"I agree with Rin." Sango and Mirai jumped when they heard Kagome's voice echo from behind them. The girl came around the table and sat next to Rin on the other side, facing Sango and Mirai.

"The less they know, the more I have to work with."

**ooo**

"Good work today ladies. Don't forget to stretch and get a good night's sleep. We'll be starting early morning tomorrow." Once all the coaches had their word with their teams, they left, leaving the girls to stretch and cool down.

"My stomach hurts." One of the freshmen complained, having been subjected to doing diving falls.

"My everything hurts." Sango said, collapsing on to the floor, panting hard. No one bothered to even complain about her, seeing as they were all in states of disarray. Kagome was sitting on the floor, legs and arms stretched out and her head resting on her thighs. Mirai was guzzling down water from her bottle, dehydrated from the intense workout.

"Practice is never like this." Rin gasped in and out, massaging the stich in her side that pained her to move.

"Can I just die right here?" Sango asked, having finally stopped panting and was staring up at the ceiling.

"No. We have our individual and group training now with others. We'll be able to take a break later on." Kagome finally said, getting off the ground and rolling her neck, relieving some of the tension that seemed to have accumulated.

"Mirai and I have practice with some of the Inarizaki girls. We'll see you guys later." Rin said, still in pain from the stich, as she and Mirai left to catch up with a few girls from Inarizaki.

"Ah, I should probably find that giant blocker." Sango said, dragging her body off the floor.

"Which one?" Kagome asked, gesturing to the numerous tall players around them.

"The one from the college team. That one." Sango gestured to a girl with cropped brown hair, donning a dark blue shirt and grey shorts.

"Have fun. Try to get at least one spike through." Kagome said, waving her friend off as she went off to find the Itachiyama player who had come up to her earlier.

"Ah, over here Shiratorizawa setter." Kagome felt her fingers twitch as she turned to see the girl from earlier with three others, one girl from Itachiyama, one from Inarizaki and the third from the college team.

"We'll be heading to our substitute gym, so follow along." Kagome nodded before falling into line behind the girls, walking next to the college student.

"Ah, I don't think I played you today." Kagome looked up to the college girl before nodding, not recognizing her. The college student quickly introduced herself and Kagome did the same. The two continued to talk, more so on the college student's half whilst they walked to the gym.

Once they got there, the girls set the volleyball net up and dragged out a basket of volleyballs before splitting into two teams for a couple matches of 3 vs 3.

"Left!" Kagome saw the girl from Inarizaki running down the side of the court, getting ready to jump. As the ball arched in the air, Kagome analyzed the girl's style: the way she favored her right leg over her left, her tendency to swing her arms in a more whip-like movement and her speed.

"Here." Kagome set the ball towards the girl, watching the ball fly towards the left side of the court. The Inarizaki spiker jumped from the ground from her right left, as Kagome foresaw and slammed the ball across the net with her left hand.

"That was a good toss, maybe a little higher next time." The girl said, patting Kagome on the back as the other team got ready to serve the ball.

"You're good at time-difference attacks, aren't you?" Kagome asked the Inarizaki spiker once they had paused for a break.

"Hai. I'm surprised you could tell." The girl replied as she wiped the sweat off her neck with a towel. Kagome nodded before asking her a few tips about setting a ball for a time difference attack if the receive is off.

"You have to be willing to risk points to get it right at first. Time-difference attacks are hard to do from an off receive because of the need to get the correct timing." The girl replied.

"Wouldn't it just hinder the power of the spike then? While you can avoid the block, the timing is sometimes hard to get right, so in that case, wouldn't it be best to go with a strong attack?" Kagome questioned, and the girl nodded.

"You could do that. But there's more than one attack that you can do. That's why time difference attacks are so useful yet very hard to set properly. I've only seen a few setters manage to do them. And then there's the famed genius from the males' league, the King of the Court. These attacks would be easy for him seeing as he can immediately pinpoint where to send a player's toss. I'm jealous of whoever gets to spike his sets." Kagome bit her lip, not wanting to say any more as the girl headed back onto the court.

"Huh, Tooru's got it hard. I guess I wouldn't be no different if I was in his position." Kagome mumbled before joining the court to continue the match. By the end of their practice match, Kagome had worn herself out completely. Her arms and shoulders were aching from all the movement. Once she had finished helping the others clean the gym up, she headed off to take a shower and change. Meanwhile, Sango had finished her practice with a few of the college girls and was currently showering to rid herself of the sweat and grime from the day's training.

"Where is she?" Sango wondered as she walked out of the showers, having dried off and wearing a pair of sweatpants and loose shirt.

"Who?" A voice asked from behind her. Sango jumped, a shriek spilling from her mouth as she whipped around to see Kagome standing behind her. Looking her friend over, Sango noticed that Kagome had showered and changed into different clothing. Her hair was spilling across her shoulders, a dark blue flannel shirt and a pair of grey leggings on.

"Ah, I was looking for you. How did your practice go?" Sango asked as the two walked back to the room that their team was given.

"I've managed to figure out some of their play styles, but it's going to take some more time. I'll probably watch those videos that Rin has to get something more concrete for Inter-High. What about yourself?" Sango began to tell her all about the college girls that she was playing with. By the time Sango was done with her story, they had made their way to the room and entered it to see girls spread all over the place, some group with others chatting and some sleeping away.

"You're late." The two looked over to their futons to see Mirai and Rin sitting on their futons chatting with some of the other regulars. Mirai had taken out her contacts for the night and was wearing black framed glasses.

"Practice went a little late." Kagome told them as she and Sango joined the others. Asking how their practice went, Kagome and Sango were given a rundown of each girl's practice with the other teams here.

"Ah, Kagome, here are the videos you asked for. I've sent you both Itachiyama's and Inarizaki's games." Rin said, showing the different files on her phone before sending them to Kagome.

"Thanks Rin." Kagome told her lying down on her futon, setting her phone aside and listening in to Sango and Mirai's conversation.

"I couldn't even get one spike by her. She's a goddamn giant!"

"Aren't you supposed to be a spiker? And you can't spike against her? Pity." Sango's whines grew louder as Rin began to egg her on, leaving Mirai to mediate between the two, seeing as Kagome wasn't going to intervene.

"Kagome don't go to sleep. You promised you'd play with me." Kagome nodded from her face under her blanket, before it was ripped away from her. She looked up to see Sango's eyes gleaming down at her and immediately cursed for agreeing to play.

"Must we?" Kagome asked, still feel the ache in her muscles from all the intense training. Sango nodded, and Kagome sighed before sitting up while Sango rounded up the rest of the regulars and some of the other players. Most of the first years and non-starters were either sleeping, chatting with their futon neighbor or on their phone.

"What are we playing?" Mirai asked as they all formed a small circle on the floor. Seeing Sango's smile grow wide, Kagome's eyes widened, and she wanted to immediately back out.

"Truth or dare."

**ooo**

"Why am I doing this again?" Kagome asked as she changed out of her night clothes into one of Iwaizumi's Aoba Josai sweatshirts that he had given her a while ago and white shorts. Sango had finished getting changed into an old Kitagawa Daichi jacket and black shorts, and finished tying her shoe laces.

"If we let Sango go by herself, she'll end up doing more damage compared to when you go with her." Mirai told her as she patted Kagome on the shoulders.

"Did you have to give her this? Anything else would have been fine." Kagome gave Rin a dark glare promising pain.

"She asked for the worst. Besides, I'm not the one who is making you go with her." Rin told her, wilting at their captain's glare.

"All of us decided that you should go with her since you're the best at doing damage-control with her." Their third-year middle blocker said, ruffling Kagome's hair. Kagome batted at the older girl's hand before running a hand through her hair.

"Expect a full spartan training when I get back." Kagome said, staring down all the girls that had been playing last night.

"Kagome let's go. Coach let us go as long as we get back by 10." Sango cried from the entrance of Itachiyama's grounds. Kagome sighed, rubbing the bridge of her nose with her thumb and point finger before grabbing a hair tie from her wrist and tying her hair up into a high ponytail.

"Honestly, this is ridiculous. It's not even 7 in the morning yet. And you couldn't have done the punishment?" Kagome grumbled as she waved at the rest of their team before leaving Itachiyama with Sango, both girls jogging on the pavement side by side.

"Do you think I want to die early? If I did anything to the Coach in her sleep, I'll never see the sunlight again, let alone survive. I think I'd rather do this." Sango replied, shivering at the thought of pranking their Coach. The woman was nice and strict, but if you got her mad, her training was like a regime from hell.

"What did you even tell the Coach?" Kagome asked as they came to a stop at a crossing, waiting for the light to change.

"I told the Coach that I was going to be training my endurance today with you. She questioned Mirai to make sure I wasn't going to wander off to do anything stupid." Sango replied. The light turned green and the two girls continued jogging. They passed by houses and stores, jogging down streets and train crossings, and stopping at intersections.

"What do we have to do again?" Kagome asked once they had stopped to take a break and check the map to make sure they were going the right way.

"I have to take a picture with their volleyball banner. By the way, why are you wearing a Seijou sweatshirt?" Sango asked, giving her a teasing smile.

"Don't give me that look. This is the only jersey I had to wear and was planning to wear it when we go back tonight, but thanks to someone, I needed it to go out running. You and I both know that I'm only friends with Tooru and Hajime." Kagome replied once they started jogging again.

"Sure. This is coming from the girl that used to sleep in the same bed as them and is the only girl that they get close to." Sango teased back and laughed as Kagome ran faster to avoid Sango.

"Says from the girl who still wears a jersey from junior high." Kagome snapped as Sango continued to tease her. By the time Sango was done, Kagome had a growing tick mark on her forehead and was ready to ditch Sango in the middle of nowhere.

"Are you done? Cause if so, we need to get going." Kagome said, gesturing to the street that they had to run down. Sango nodded, having finished catching her breath before starting down the street with Kagome.

"Do you know where the banner is anyways?" Kagome asked once they had crossed the train tracks.

"It should be in the gym, so getting in and out will be our only problem. Let's hope that it's been left unlocked." Sango replied, her breath coming out shorter and shorter. Finally, as the turned the corner, the two girls had looks of relief cross their face as they saw the entrance to the school.

Once they had entered the school grounds, Kagome dropped to the ground, resting her back against the bark of the tree. Sango rested her hands on her hand, breathing in and out as she tried to regain her breath.

"You okay?" Sango asked Kagome once she had regained her breath. Kagome nodded, having finally caught her breathe and was stretching her legs from running.

"I'm going to go find the gym. I'll come and get you after, okay?" Kagome waved as Sango headed off further into the grounds of the school. She closed her eyes and listened to the world around her, tuning her hearing to the smallest sounds, from the birds chirping to the rustling leaves.

**ooo**

"What has she done now?" Kagome pondered as she got off the ground, dusting her shorts off. It had been some time since Sango went to find the gym. Seeing as Sango hadn't returned, Kagome set off to find the gym. After a few minutes, Kagome found the gym's entrance. Walking up to the door, she tested the handle and saw that it was unlocked. Opening the door, she stepped inside to see an empty gym with volleyball nets still in place. There was a basket of volleyballs to the side of the court that had been left untouched.

"Where did she go?" Kagome felt a tick growing on her forehead and just as she turned around to head back, she felt her body suddenly plummet to the ground. She winced as her head and back landed on the wooden floor of the gym. A sudden ear-piercing scream broke the silence and Kagome's eyes shot open to see a pair of emerald eyes staring down at her.

The two of them just stared at each other, neither saying a word. This just had to be karma, Kagome thought, her ears still ringing from the scream.

"Ah, sumimasen. I didn't see you there. Are you okay?" The boy reached out a hand for Kagome to grab. Kagome grabbed the hand and the boy pulled her up easily. Once Kagome was firmly back on her feet, she brushed her back off as she looked over the boy. He was extremely tall, towering over her by at least a foot. He was donning a black shirt and red volleyball shorts.

"It's fine." Kagome said, hoping to ease the discomfort in the taller boy's eyes. The boy smiled before rubbing the back of his head, apologizing once again as he bowed over.

"Like I said it was fine. I shouldn't be here anyway." Kagome said and the boy stood back up.

"Ah, you're from another school? Then why are you here?" The boy asked. Kagome was about to talk when she heard Sango shout from behind her.

"Kagome, you're here. I found the volleyball banner. It was in the Coach's office for some reason, so it took some time to get in –" Sango's voice died off when she noticed the tall silver-haired boy in front of her friend.

"Make a new friend already?" Sango asked as she came to stand next to Kagome. Kagome shook her head, quickly explaining that he had bumped into her on accident.

"Ah, well sorry for intruding." Sango said, bowing to the taller boy.

"Wait, you were looking for our volleyball team's banner? Do you play as well?" The boy asked. Kagome and Sango both nodded, and the boy's eyes lit up.

"I'm on the team here. I just joined this year, but I plan on being the ace. I'm Haiba Lev, first-year middle blocker on the team." Lev said, introducing himself with a smile.

"Yoroshiku. I'm a second-year wing spiker." Sango grinned back, before gesturing to Kagome, "And she's a third-year setter." Kagome nodded in confirmation and was immediately swallowed in Lev's shadow as he approached her.

"You're a setter? Really senpai?" Kagome nodded. Lev then proceeded to ask her to set a few volleyballs for her.

"Huh? Why don't you get your own setter to do that?" Sango asked curiously.

"I don't think he likes me very much. I might have scared him a little bit on the first day of practice. I just started volleyball in high school, so I'm not very good." Lev explained what had happened.

"Why don't you ask another setter then?"

"He's a freshman like me, so he's still learning. Kenma-san's a second-year and our starting setter. If only he'd toss to me though." Lev said in a sullen voice. Kagome was dead-set on not setting him a volleyball, but if he just got into the sport, did he even know how to spike, she wondered.

"What will you do if I set you a toss? There's no guarantee that you'll spike it. And isn't it best for you to match up with your own setter?" Kagome told the boy.

"I need more experience to play with my team. Please?" Lev asked, and this time even Sango nodded along.

"Why don't you set a couple? We have a little time to spare." Sango told Kagome, gesturing for Kagome to move onto the court.

'I guess I could scout the competition for Tooru and Ni-san.' Kagome thought before looking up at Lev's emerald eyes.

"Are you sure?" Kagome asked and Lev nodded before running to grab a volleyball from the basket and heading onto the court. Kagome looked at Sango, who shrugged her shoulders before motioning for her to move onto the court.

"Only a couple, okay? We have to leave soon." Lev nodded and tossed the ball towards Kagome before running towards the net. Kagome's eyes widened as she watched him run. She couldn't pick out which side he favored. As he jumped into the air, she set the ball towards his right hand, somewhat low to see if he would be able to spike the ball.

"Ah." Lev said, not hitting the volleyball as he went rushing past. His arm swung arm like a whip before hitting the empty air and dropping to the ground.

"Another please." Lev asked. Kagome nodded before grabbing a ball out of the basket and threw it to him. Lev received the ball and sent it somewhere towards the location the setter would be standing. Kagome moved to position herself under the ball and watch Lev run towards the net once again.

'So, he doesn't favor either foot till the very end. And his arms are very long, so maybe here?' Kagome pondered as she set the ball further towards the other side of the court. This time, Lev's arm swung fast and the ball ended up hitting him on the head.

"He doesn't have a consistent form when he swings or jumps. Then again, he did just start volleyball, so I shouldn't be too surprised." Kagome mumbled before grabbing another ball and tossing it to Lev. Each time Lev ran towards the net, Kagome would analyze his movements and the trajectory of his swing hoping to catch some sort of pattern in his irrational swings.

"One more please!" Lev yelled, his hand barely skimming the fifth Kagome had sent him.

"This is the last one." Kagome told him before tossing the ball towards him. Lev received the ball and sent it towards her before running towards the net. Kagome stared at Lev, watching as he ran down the court. As the ball came spinning down towards her, she went through all the possible movements that Lev would do or could do and the different movements of his arms. Lev jumped from the ground and Kagome smiled as she set the ball towards him.

"Huh? Why are all the lights on? Kuroo, did you forget to lock the door when we left?" A deep male voice came from the gym doors, but Kagome paid no attention. Sango noticed a group of males enter the gym, all wearing black shirts and red shorts, each of them wearing volleyball shoes on their feet. Pulling herself off the wall, she began to walk towards the court and couldn't help but stop in awe as she watched the high arch that Kagome set for the ball and the freshman jump into the air, a grin plastered all over his face. The gym stared in silence as Lev's hand swung around like a whip and slammed the ball onto the other side of the court.

"Yatta!" Lev cheered, his palm slightly red from the force of the spike. Kagome tilted her head and smiled before walking over to him.

"You'll be a good ace." Kagome told Lev, before heading over to where Sango was standing along with a group of males wearing the same outfit as Lev had been.

"Good luck at this year's Inter-High. Do try to make it to the end." Kagome said as she walked by the team, catching up with Sango as the two walked towards the exit.

"Wait, what's your name? " Lev yelled out as he ran up to Kagome and Sango, making Kagome pause in her stride.

"I'm Kagome. I'll see you at Nationals if you make it. Ja ne."

**ooo**

Lev stared as the two girls left the gym before rushing over to Kenma to ask for some tosses when he was kicked in the back by Yaku.

"Lev, what are you doing? You can't just let anyone into the gym!" Yaku yelled at the boy. Lev jumped back onto his feet before facing Yaku.

"But Yaku-san, they were here before me! The other girl said something about the volleyball banner." The team paused as they took in what Lev had just said.

"Lev, do you know who they are?" Lev shook his head as a negative before repeating what they had told him about their positions and years.

"One of them was wearing a Seijou jersey. Both of them may be here in Tokyo scouting for their competition this year." Kuroo told Yaku and Yamamoto.

"Are we going to ignore the fact that I just spiked my first volleyball?" Lev asked, bringing the attention back to them.

"Come to think of it, how were you able to do it?" Inuoka asked. So far, Lev was the only one that Kenma had yet to match up with, but for him to match up with someone he just met, that was ridiculous.

"I don't know. I just kept jumping and finally hit one of her tosses." Lev replied, before getting a volleyball thrown at his head by Yaku. The team began to practice their spiking, blocking and receiving, while Kuroo and Yamamoto stood on the side talking about their visitors from earlier.

"That's strange though. Kenma hasn't been able to match with Lev, yet a complete stranger was able to do so with only 6 tosses. Is she a genius setter, like that one from Karasuno?" Yamamoto said as he watched Lev fail to spike another one of Kenma's tosses.

"I don't think so. That last ball she set… she didn't look at it until moments before tossing it. She was watching Lev the whole time."

**ooo**

Just like Oikawa said, Inter-High had come right around the corner. The preliminaries took three or four days to get through, with Shiratorizawa being the representative for Miyagi in Nationals. The boys' team suffered a defeat 2-1 against Inarizaki in the second round, while the girls' team advanced to the finals round against Itachiyama. The stadium was filled to the brim with the two schools and many other visitors, all anticipating the end result of the game.

"Welcome everyone. We are live at the Tokyo Metropolitan Arena where we are hosting the Japanese High School National Volleyball Tournament Finals. First up, hailing from Miyagi, please welcome Shiratorizawa!" From behind the stadium entrance doors, the main players of the Shiratorizawa team all stood, decked in full uniform. Each of them was wearing the Shiratorizawa female volleyball uniform, with knee pads and volleyball shoes. Kagome was wearing their volleyball jacket on, the sleeves hanging to the side as she moved her shoulders.

"I've got your backs on the court. So, trust me and jump." Kagome told her team before pushing the doors open and entering the stadium. The crowd erupted into applause and cheers as the Shiratorizawa team entered the court. As Kagome looked around, she easily spotted Tendo yelling loudly while Ushijima and Shirabu were politely clapping. She sent a smile up at her brother before looking around for her friends from Seijou. It wasn't hard to spot them with Oikawa and Hanamaki screaming out her name, while Iwaizumi and Matsukawa were clapping.

"Next, please welcome our reigning champions, Itachiyama!" If the crowd was loud before, it was thundering as the Itachiyama team headed onto the court. Sango growled as she saw one of the girls that she had gotten into a row with during their camp come out onto the court.

"We'll pay them back." Mirai said, settling her hand on Sango's arm. Sango nodded, before the team huddled around their coach and waited for instructions. Itachiyama took to the court first, warming up their players.

"This is what you have all trained for. Make sure to loosen your arm and leg muscles." The girls nodded and lightly stretched as they waited out the three minutes. The whistle blew, and Itachiyama switched places with Shiratorizawa so their team could warm up for three minutes. One by one, Kagome set the ball to each spiker, the spiker spiking the ball across the net. Mirai was on the other side of the net, receiving each ball without letting one drop. The referee blew the whistle three minutes later, signaling for Shiratorizawa to clear the court and for both teams to line up.

"We will now begin the Japanese High School Volleyball National Tournament Girls' Finals, Itachiyama Academy vs Shiratorizawa Academy" The arena was quiet as the commentator spoke. Once she had finished, Kagome stepped out of line and walked towards the net, matching the stride of Itachiyama's captain. The two met in the middle as they shook hands under the net.

"Let's have a good game." Kagome nodded, repeating the words back before heading back to where the rest of her teammates were standing.

"We will now introduce the starting lineup of the two schools." The girls ran and clapped their coaches' hands as their name was called before the starting 7 players on each team lined up to face the judging panel and audience.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, please cheer on both teams and with them the best." Clapping echoed throughout the area as the players huddled up.

"Let's win this!" Nods of approval and shouts of agreement echoed in the small circle as they took their positions on the court. Kagome smoothed the medical tape around her wrist and rolled it a few times, making sure that her wrist was loose. Around her, Sango was lightly stretching her arms while Mirai was checking on her knees. The whistle blew and all the girls on the court fell into their stances. And with that, Itachiyama's side served the ball and the game began.

**ooo**

"Get changed and head back to the bus. We'll have a meeting when we get back." The girls nodded and the coach left the locker room. Sango slammed her fist onto the lockers as she gritted her teeth. Mirai was sitting on the bench with her head hung low. The rest of the starting members weren't in any better shape, two of them whimpering as tears leaked out of their eyes. Even Rin, who was usually the stoic one, looked like she was about to burst into tears. Kagome smiled faintly, not sure where to start, and cleared her throat. All the girls in the room looked at her, tears dripping down their only first year starter's face.

"Today, we played one of the best games that we have ever played." Kagome said, looking at the girls one by one. Mirai looked back at Kagome guiltily, remembering all the receives that she could have gotten, but didn't.

"I put my trust in you, and you all came through." Rin looked away, unable to look her captain and friend in the eye after the game she had just played.

"I will not regret this match, so I don't want you guys to regret it either." Kagome said, starting at her best friend and vice-captain. Sango nodded back before pulling herself off the lockers.

"We played good today guys. They were just better this time. But we have five months. Five months to get stronger and beat them in the Spring Tournament." Sango said, making Kagome slightly freeze at the last couple words. The girls nodded, Mirai wiping the tears out of her eyes, as they stood up. They began to change out of their uniform back into their jersey and shorts, and one by one they left the locker room.

"Let's go." Kagome nodded and followed Sango out of the locker room, the two of them being the last ones to leave. Along the way, they were recognized by the crowd that had come to watch them and were sent congrats for playing well and words of encouragement, but it went right past their ears. Once they stepped outside, Kagome saw the bus waiting to take them back to Miyagi. Just as she was about to head towards it, Sango cleared her throat. Turning her head, Kagome's eyes widened as she saw Oikawa, Iwaizumi, Hanamaki and Matsukawa standing somewhat next to her brother, Tendo and Ushijima. Oikawa had a tick growing on his forehead and was being held back by Matsukawa while Tendo was telling Ushijima off. Iwaizumi had a hand to his forehead and Hanamaki was laughing while her brother looked like he had given up on her friends.

"Go ahead. Tell Coach I'll be there in a few minutes." Sango nodded and headed to the bus while Kagome walked up to her friends and brother.

"Good job out there today Tsuki-chan." Oikawa said, ruffling Kagome's hair once he noticed Kagome walk up to them.

"But I lost." Kagome replied in a soft voice. Shirabu sighed before pulling his sister into a small hug, causing her to slowly smile.

"You did well out there." Ushijima told her and was then subjected to Oikawa's annoyed glare.

"You just have to train and beat them next time." Kagome's smile fell immediately, remembering that the team's last chance was at the Spring Tournament in five months' time.

"I don't think I can play then. I haven't been to one since Kitagawa Daichi" The mood was heavy in the area as the males remembered the severity of the situation.

"We can talk more about it at home, okay?" Shirabu told his sister, and Kagome nodded, before thanking them for coming and waving goodbye as she went to board their bus.

"Is she going to be okay?" Iwaizumi asked as he watched the bus roll out of sight and on its way back to Miyagi.

"I hope so." Oikawa replied, his voice portraying the seriousness of the topic, before whipping around to face Ushijima.

"Don't think this means that I will be friends with you. I will beat you this fall." Oikawa gave Ushijima one more glare before stalking off toward the train station. Iwaizumi sighed, nodding to Shirabu before running after Oikawa. Hanamaki and Matsukawa bowed to the three of them before following after their captain and vice. Ushijima, Tendo and Shirabu ended up following them to the train station as they were getting on the same train back to Miyagi but sat in a different compartment.

"Will she be okay?" Ushijima asked once they had settled down in the train and were on their way back.

"I don't know. We don't really talk about the Spring Tournament that much." Shirabu replied, staring out the window.

"Do you think she'll retire?" Tendo asked in a shocked voice. Shirabu shrugged his shoulders, before explaining her condition to them.

"I think its psychological fear." Shirabu and Tendo turned to face Ushijima, who was staring back at them with an impassive look.

"The doctor said that she's completely healed. Seeing as she's completely healed and not in any pain when she plays, it's not anything physical that's keeping her from playing. I think it's more psychological. I don't think she's over what happened yet." Ushijima told them.

"So, what are we going to do then? She has to play in the Spring Tournament. It's her last tournament of high school." Tendo asked, his mood dampened from the severity of the conversation.

"The club will probably take a week off before starting to train again. She'll probably train along with them. Whether she'll play this fall is another thing though." Ushijima replied.

"We have our final exams in a few weeks, don't we?" Ushijima nodded, and Shirabu continued, "I think I'll take her to visit our parents." Tendo choked on the lollipop he was sucking on, causing Ushijima to thump him on the back. Coughing it out, he thanked Ushijima before turning to Shirabu.

"Is that a good idea Kenjiro?"

"It's time for her to see them again."

**ooo**

Once the team had gotten back from Tokyo, they had their meeting before going home for the rest of the weekend. They all took a week off of practice, Coach's orders, to properly study for their exams the following week.

"No, it's supposed to be 3.6π." Kagome told Sango after going through her work. Sango, Mirai and Rin had come over to Kagome's place to study for their finals, while her brother was off studying with some of his teammates.

"Huh? Where did you get that from?" Kagome sighed as Rin let out another jab at Sango's inability to do math correctly.

"Rin, instead of bugging her, help her. Sango, she's right. You have to pay attention to the formulas that you are using." Kagome said, effectively cutting off the argument before it blew up.

"Why does the difference in bases matter for these?" Mirai asked, pointing at two definitions in her notes from their biology class, pushing her glasses onto the top of her head. Kagome slid over a little bit to where Mirai was leaning away from her tatami and on the wall and looked at her notebook.

"So, you're looking at DNA and RNA, right?" Mirai nodded, and Kagome continued, "That's because DNA's sugar is deoxyribose while RNA's sugar is ribose. This causes them to have different functions, hence the importance of the bases." Mirai's face lit up with understanding as she thanked Kagome before going back to her notebook.

"Ah, I'm jealous of you, Kagome." Sango moaned as slumped down on Kagome's tatami, covering her notes and textbook.

"Why?" Kagome asked, lifting her head from her literature book, giving Sango a confused look.

"You're so smart. You don't even have to study." Sango told her.

"Huh? Everyone has to study for their exams. I just happen to remember and test well, that's all. I'm nothing special." Kagome replied.

"They even let you skip a year because you did so well on the entry exam and the other proficiency tests that they had you do. Nothing special, my ass." Sango grumbled as she flipped a page in her textbook.

"What are you planning on doing in college?" Rin asked, having set her calculus textbook down and was looking across the table at Kagome. Kagome shrugged her shoulders, having not thought about that question yet.

"We're supposed to be thinking about what we want to do over the summer. Us third-years are scheduled to meet with our counselors when we get back to discuss future careers and universities." Kagome told Rin.

"You two, go back to studying! Kagome, help me with this concept." Mirai snapped at Rin and Sango before beckoning Kagome to look at the notes from their class a couple days ago and asked for an explanation.

"Wrong. Why are you using an unnecessary equation, baka!" Run yelled, slapping Sango's head with a paper fan, as she pointed out Sango's mistake.

"Why can't you?" Rin let out a screech similar to a dying animal before pulling out their equation sheet from class and explaining why it wasn't allowed in that situation.

"Okay, Mirai. Explain the process of photosynthesis and then compare it to cellular respiration." Mirai nodded, before explaining both processes and the main functions, before comparing the two to each other.

"Baka, were are your units? Suzuki-sensei takes points off like crazy if you forget them!" Rin yelled at Sango, drawing a huge circle next to her answer where the units were supposed to four of them studied late into the night, and by the time they were getting ready to leave, Shirabu had returned from his own study session.

"See you tomorrow." Kagome nodded as she waved her friends off. Once they were gone, she locked the door behind her before going to the tatami table in the living room where her brother was waiting with their dinner.

"How did your studying go?" Kagome asked, kneeling onto the floor and digging into the dinner.

"It was good, except that Satori wouldn't stay quiet and kept getting yelled at by Ohira-san and Semi-san." Shirabu told her before asking how hers went.

"It went well." Kagome replied, pausing her bite before putting her chopsticks down and looking across as her brother.

"The topic of what I want to do in university came up. What do you want to do in the future?"

"I guess something in business. Maybe take over the company once I get the experience, unless you plan on taking over?" Shirabu replied in all honesty.

"Do you think Okaa-sama would be mad if I didn't take my birthright? I haven't told her yet." Kagome mumbled sullenly, setting her elbows onto the table and resting her chin on her hands.

"Even though you're the older twin, I don't think they would mind either of us taking the position. Why don't you tell them?" Kagome's mood wasn't deterred by Shirabu's excuse. It was hard on Shirabu to see his sister in such a state.

"Do you have anything next weekend, after our exams have ended?" Shirabu asked.

"I don't think so. Coach said something about a practice match with Fukurodani, but that's a week after exams have ended."

"Keep that weekend open. We're going to go see them."

**ooo**

"Welcome. What can I get for you two today?" The lady at the counter asked Shirabu and Kagome as the two walked up to the counter of the store.

"Can I get a bouquet of white roses and pink carnations?" Kagome asked the lady. The lady nodded, ringing up their purchase to which Shirabu handed the money. Once the transaction was complete, the lady signaled for them to wait on the couches while they got their bouquet.

Moments later, a woman walked up to them holding a delicately bundled bouquet of flowers. Saying their thanks, the two headed out the doors and headed down the streets of Tokyo.

"They're beautiful." Kagome said as she looked at the bouquet in her arms.

"I'm sure they'll like them." Shirabu told his sister as they passed by other stores and buildings, making their way to where there parents were waiting for their arrival. It didn't seem to be long before the two finally made their way up to a building. Heading inside, walked through the building towards the gardens in the back. Shirabu opened the gate to the garden and gestured for Kagome to go.

"Go ahead. I'll give you some time with them alone. Just call me when you're done." Shirabu tightened his hand around Kagome's before letting her go through into the garden. Around her, Kagome only saw a few other people chatting with their family members, and sighed, remembering exactly why she was here today. She continued to walk through the garden, holding the bouquet with both hands to avoid wrinkling her black skirt out of nervousness. The breeze gently blew by, making Kagome's hair flow to the side and her satin blouse to move against her skin as she came to stop. It was quiet as Kagome stared as she gathered her thoughts.

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

There was no response, as Kagome crouched down at set the bouquet on the ground, staring at the two names engraved on stone in front of her.

"Okaa-sama, Otou-sama."

**ooo**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi all. Sorry for the long wait. School took up too much of my time, but I'm back for the break. As a heads up, due to character names, Kagome will be calling her brother Kenjiro from now on to not cause any confusion. Thanks to the Fat King Pig for editing my story for me.**

**ooo**

_Sango should have learned not to antagonize people. But then again, Kagome should have been more in tune to her surroundings. Now she had to deal with hyperactive first years, annoying third-years and second-years that wanted no part in the whole mess? Could she blame Sango for this as well? Or was this karma for something else?_

**ooo**

"I'm sorry I didn't come sooner. I don't think I could have handled it. Even now, I'm barely managing to stay without running away." Kagome choked out, clenching her fists into her skirt as she stared at her parents' resting place.

"I decided to go to Shiratorizawa with Kenjiro. I was moved up a year and was elected as the captain of the girls' volleyball team. The operation went well. I had to switch to libero to let my wrist heal, but now I'm back to playing setter now. We made it to Nationals this year and almost beat Itachiyama. The rest of the girls want to play in the Spring High, but…." Kagome's eyes welled with water, but no tears fell down her cheeks.

"I'm sorry. If I hadn't been so stupid, none of this would have happened. I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you. I'm sorry that I forced you to come. I wish I could go back and take back what I said." It was silent, as Kagome paused to put her thoughts together.

"Is it okay for me to move on, to go back to how I was before? Is it right for me to play in the Spring High? Is it okay for Kenjiro to take up the company instead of me? I know it's my birthright and role as the eldest, but I think he will be able to help the company grow in places that I can't." Kagome asked her parents, hoping that she would get any kind of answer back.

"Tell me what to do. Tell me whether I'm doing things right. Please." Both her mother and father's names had been elegantly carved into the stone along with their dates of birth and death. Underneath, a simple quote had been carved, one that Kagome had heard her mother and father always tell her as a child.

It was awfully still as she stared at her parents' gravestone. As if they had heard her doubts, a small breeze brushed her hair out of her face. The wind had rustled the trees around, blowing flower petals into the air. Kagome stared up as she watched the petals begin to fall down around her. She lifted her hand out as a dark pink blossom fell down and landed into her palm. She looked behind to see Shirabu waiting for her to call him over. Gesturing for him to come forward, she rose to her feet and held his hand once he fell into position next to her.

"Kenjiro's with me this time. He brought me here to see you, so I should thank him for this." Kagome said, squeezing her brother's hand gently. Shirabu looked at Kagome and grinned before turning back to his parents' grave to ask for their blessing.

"Hi Okaa-sama, Otou-sama. It's been a while since I came to visit. School is going well; my grades are high, and volleyball is going well. I don't know how much Kagome told you, but I would like to take over Otou-sama's company. I know that it's Kagome's birthright, but I want her to choose her own path." Shirabu smiled as the breeze continued to blow past them, as if their parents were sending them warm wishes.

"We'll see you next time then, Okaa-sama, Otou-sama." The twins bowed to their parent's grave before leaving the garden. Signing out, they stepped outside the building and began to make their way towards the train station.

"Ne, Kenjiro. Can we stop by the hairdresser when we get back?"

**ooo**

If anyone had noticed Kagome's changes, they didn't ask why. Most of the third-years and Rin all knew that she had looked different before joining Shiratorizawa as a second year. If anything, she had gotten compliments and looks of envy and awe from many of the girls. The weeks after exams were relaxing. The volleyball team had no break though, as they had to prepare for the qualifiers for the Spring High, back to their harsh training regime enforced by their coach.

"It's good to see you again, ya know." Kagome looked up from the volleyball in her hands to see Sango staring at her with an indescribable expression on her face.

"Been a while since Kitagawa Daichi." Sango grinned as she slung an arm over Kagome's shoulders before dragging the girl over to help fix the volleyball nets into place. Kagome and Sango were the only ones in the gym at the moment, the two of them arriving early to set the place up and have some time to talk before the rest of the team came for practice.

"What did Oikawa and Iwaizumi say?" Sango asked as she tightened the rope around the pole before letting go and doing the same to the other rope.

"They were happy and relieved. My shoulder was soaking wet due to Tooru crying when he saw me. Hajime ended up having to pry Tooru off." Kagome laughed out as she wrapped the foam around the poles. Once they had finished setting up the nets and dragging the volleyball baskets out, Kagome got a ball and began to set tosses to Sango.

"How did your visit go?" Sango was hesitant to ask, but she had talked with Shirabu earlier to make sure that the visit wasn't a landmine that needed any avoiding.

"It went good. I'm not going to be completely over it anytime soon, but I think I can do what I want without disappointing my parents. I just hope they can forgive me and be proud of me." Kagome told her as she tossed another ball.

"Kagome, they're definitely proud of you. And I'm sure they've long since forgiven you." Sango smiled as she walked away from the net and awaited another set. Kagome gave Sango another toss, this time a little higher and wider than usual. Sango's eyes widened at the toss before slamming her hand on the ball and spiking it down, sending the ball careening across the net.

"How was that? I've been meaning to toss that one for a while now." Kagome asked. Sango nodded and gave her honest opinion on the toss.

"Not fair. I want some practice too. Kagome, set me some tosses!" The two spun around to see the rest of their team trickling into the gym one by one.

"Go work on your receiving first with Mirai, then I'll set some for you." Kagome told the second-year spiker, who pouted at Kagome's reply. Kagome quickly gave instructions for the girls to warm up then practice receiving and serving. Once they had left the small huddle and began their warm up, Kagome headed over to her bag and grabbed her water bottle out. It wasn't long before their Coach came out of her office and called the team together.

"First things first, good job at the Interhigh girls. You did very well, and now, we have the chance to beat Itachiyama back during the Spring High." Grins and cheers came from the girls, and even the Coach cracked a smile at the enthusiasm from the team.

"Moving on. As you know, we your wrist and ankle weights. After the camp, we head to Fukurodani for a practice match. You'll have the rest of the day after that to sightsee before we return." The Coach then let Kagome are going to Itachiyama for a week for a training camp.

**ooo**

"Ah, I want the blue one. You can have the red one." Sango grumbled as she and Rin fought over which side of the ice pop they wanted. Kagome and Mirai had already split their ice pop, not really caring which side they got. The four girls had stopped by a convenience store on the way home.

"I had the red one last time, which means I get the blue one this time." Kagome sighed as she watched her friends squabble on the way down the street.

"Ano… are you guys going to stop fighting? We're almost at the station." Mirai told the girls, noticing the stares they were getting from the people on the streets. Ignoring her words, Sango and Rin kept arguing. Mirai sighed, turning to Kagome to see if she was following but flinched when she saw the girl's dark aura pulsing.

"Um guys… you might want to stop." Mirai gave them a last warning before Kagome descended on them, telling both girls to shut up and stop interrupting the whole street. Once the girls stopped their argument, they switched the topic to their practice match with Fukurodani and training camp with Itachiyama.

"I want to pound my fist into their face. Especially that middle blocker." Sango grumbled as they swiped their train pass and got into the train. The four of them took a compartment close to the exit, Sango and Kagome sitting together and Mirai and Rin on the other side.

"Maa. We have time to get better than them." Kagome said, nudging Sango with her shoulder.

"That's right. Qualifiers start in October which gives us about four months. Not to mention we have a demon coach, so training will definitely be increased." Rin replied. The train pulled up to the first stop where Mirai got off, waving to her friends as she left.

"What was that trick you were working on earlier?" Rin asked Kagome, who looked up from her phone.

"I'm trying to make the ball disappear."

**ooo**

The next day came too quickly. Kagome wanted to go back to her apartment and sleep. The girls had to be at the gym at 4 in the morning to board the bus down to Itachiyama. She had said bye to Shirabu and Tendo earlier that morning as the two showed Kagome off to the train station. The girls of the volleyball team were currently waiting on their Coach who was checking their bags and closing the luggage cabin.

"I'm going back home to sleep." Kagome said, ready to go home. Sango just grinned as she pulled Kagome towards the bus once the Coach allowed them to get on. Once the girls were on the bus, they quieted while their Coach went through the attendance before listening to her usual rules for the bus ride. The bus slowly made its way out of the Shiratorizawa Academy grounds and on its way to Itachiyama. Most of the girls were fast asleep, having passed out once attendance was over.

It was just after 10 when the bus rolled into Itachiyama's grounds. The girls got off the buses and made their way to their rooms where they were staying. After changing into their practice wear, they headed down to the gym and began to warm up for the first day. Girls from Inarizaki and Itachiyama trickled in as the hour went by and soon, the head coach of the Itachiyama team entered the gym.

"Ladies, Itachiyama is pleased to host another training camp this year. I hope you're in for hell."

**ooo**

One word described the training camp: Hell. Right from the start of the camp on the day they arrived, they had been subjected to harsh training. There were many days where the girls collapsed after their training and had to drag themselves to the showers.

"First match on court 1. Shiratorizawa Team 1 vs. Inarizaki Team 1." Kagome, leaving the large group of girls standing in front of the coaches, walked with the rest of her group of nine to the first court. On the other side, a group of nine girls from Inarizaki took their position. The match started and from there, points were scored on both sides. It was a tough match, but after a long-drawn fight, Shiratorizawa pulled ahead with a 2-1 win. While the girls from Inarizaki went off to do the punishment training, Kagome and her group were able to get a break from the training.

"I'm never coming back here again." One of the freshmen grumbled as she rubbed her knees in pain.

"You say that now, but come next year, you might have a spot on the team, and you might come back." One of the other second-years told the younger girl, handing her a cold pack. It wasn't long before the whistle was blown, and the girls ran over to where the coaches were standing.

"Good work today ladies. Make sure to stretch and get dinner. We start again tomorrow early morning." With that, the girls were dismissed to go take the rest of the day off or do some self-training. Just as Kagome and Sango were about to leave to find an empty gym, Rin called out to them.

"And where do you think you two are going?" Rin leered at the two as they stopped and turned to face the Shiratorizawa team.

"You didn't think you could escape, did you?"

**ooo**

"Again, this is all your fault. You know not to anger Rin." Kagome told Sango as the two ran down the street, small beads of sweat trailing down their faces.

"But it was true. I mean, if she's going to walk in on me showering and then comment on my chest size, what's wrong with me doing the same?" Sango grumbled back.

"You must have been dropped on your head as a baby." Kagome replied, gaining an angry shout from Sango. The girls had played truth or dare again last night to let out some stress, and due to Rin's anger, Sango was forced to do a repeat of the dare from the last training camp, only to Fukurodani this time. And as usual, because no one trusted Sango to go on her own and not destroy something, they voted that Kagome would go with her.

"How is your move coming along? Have you managed to find a loophole in Itachiyama's defense?" Kagome asked Sango, referring to the girl who Sango couldn't spike past.

"No. It's like she knows where I'm going to spike all the time. At this rate, they're going to beat us like they did during Interhigh." Sango sighed.

"But it'll come to me. I just need some time to watch her. Rin has some videos of their games from the Interhigh, so I'll watch those." The two stopped for a break and checked the map to make sure they were going the right way. From the looks of it, Fukurodani was only another 10 minutes away.

"In the meantime, why don't you make a finishing move? One that you don't show any of the other schools." Kagome suggested.

"Oo that sounds like a good idea. Wait, aren't you doing one as well? Well, not finishing move, but a deciding one… or something like that?" Sango asked.

"Yeah. It's not working though. And I'm not sure how to get it right." Kagome told her.

"Was that thing you were practicing this morning in the gym?"

"You know how Tooru trained a lot to get his power and speed up so that his serves are like cannons? He taught me how to do it a while back, and I've been practicing that lately. It's not too hard to control, but the more power and speed behind it, the more pressure my wrist takes on, so I can't really go all out." Kagome explained.

"Oikawa really does love you, huh… to teach you his specialty." Sango said.

"He had better. I've stuck by that guy's side since we were children, even when he thought Hajime was an alien because his eyes changed color in the light." Kagome grinned before turning to Sango.

"Please don't tell me you're crushing on my childhood friend." Sango shook her head laughing, as Kagome went on, "Because if you are, that puts me in the awkward position."

"I'm not don't worry." Sango smiled, slinging her arm around Kagome, squeezing her before dashing ahead.

"Catch me if you can." Kagome grinned and chased after her, the two running fast until they finally made it to the entrance of Fukurodani Academy.

"Finally, we're here. I don't think I'm going to get used to running eight kilometers ever. Not to mention, my legs will be broken for sure if Coach finds out that we broke into another campus." Kagome nodded, fearing for her life. As Kagome and Sango walked through the entrance, they noticed that there were many buses in the parking lot.

"Uso…" Kagome said, staring at the names written on a few buses.

"Damn it all. This is the worst timing." Sango pulled at her hair as she and Kagome could hear the faint sounds of boys yelling coming from the gym area. Kagome grabbed a face mask from her pocket, remembering to bring it in case they were seen by anyone, and slipped it on.

"What are we supposed to do again?" Kagome asked, turning to Sango. The two were currently hiding at the top of the large hill watching a training camp happening in the gym.

"We have to leave the fake love letter they wrote in the setter's locker." Sango said, tapping her pocket as she gestured to the letter that had been written by Kagome last night.

"Wait, they're having a training camp, right? So, there are going to be some people they might not recognize if they're first-years? Why don't one of us impersonate one of the managers?" Sango suggested.

"You do realize that if any of the boys team from Nekoma is here, they will recognize you, right." Kagome told Sango.

"That's why I said one of us." Sango said, giving Kagome a devious grin.

"No."

"Come on. We have no choice. Otherwise we have to egg the Coach's car, and I would rather die than do that." Sango told Kagome.

"No."

"I'll do all your schoolwork for you?"

"You'll fail me baka."

"I'll take you out to get oden anytime for a month?" Sango asked. Kagome paused, looking at Sango.

"You owe me much more than that. But that will do for now." Sango exhaled heavily, thanking the gods that Kagome had agreed, before devising a plan to get inside.

"We're just wearing black sweatshirt and shorts, so we blend in with Karasuno. So, all I have to do is go up to one of the girls from Fukurodani and ask where their locker room is. I need a reason." Kagome said.

"You can say that one of the boys asked for a towel." Sango told Kagome, shrugging her shoulders.

"If this blows up in my face, I'm taking you down with me. Honestly, what are we going to do if someone finds out we've been breaking into school campuses." Sango shrugged her shoulders, causing Kagome to slap her over the head.

"If the map of Fukurodani is like Rin had, there should be a walkway that is next to the locker room. Wait there in the shadows and I'll try to come out as fast as possible." Kagome said. The sun was starting to set, which gave Kagome the perfect timing to start the mission.

Sango nodded, wishing Kagome good luck before darting off to the walkways. Once Sango was out of sight, Kagome walked down the hill and looked inside the gym. She noticed that all the Karasuno members including their staff had left, leaving a few Fukurodani and Shinzen members practicing. Looking around, she finally spotted a Fukurodani manager sitting on the bench tending to one of her member's knee pads. Sucking in a deep breath, Kagome pushed the net aside and walked in, watching the practice matches that Fukurodani and Shinzen were playing.

"They're good." Kagome mumbled to herself as she walked towards the Fukurodani manager.

"Um, excuse me?" The Fukurodani manager looked up to see Kagome and smiled at the girl. The player that the manager was attending thanked her before running back on to the court.

"Hi. I don't think I've seen you around before. You must be one of Karasuno's managers?" Kagome nodded.

"Hai. I'm a first year. I'm a little sick so apologies for the mask." Kagome told the girl, rubbing her fingers together as a first year would when nervous.

"No worries. I'm Yukie. What can I do for you?" Yukie asked. Kagome told the manager about one of her players needing a towel and asking where the locker rooms were. Once Yukie had given her directions, Kagome thanked the girl before heading out of the gym.

Walking down the pathways, Kagome was glad that the sun had been setting. The shadows made it easier to blend in and make her way to the locker room. When she got there, she opened the boy's locker room door and walked in, having made sure that no one was there.

"Finally. I thought that would be much harder." Kagome said. Walking down the aisle, she looked at the lockers before realizing that she didn't know who the setter of the Fukurodani team was. Grabbing her phone, she called Sango, who picked up quickly.

"Did you finish?" Sango's voice came in a whisper.

"Who is the setter? I don't remember Rin telling us who it was." There was a pause on the other end before Sango replied.

"She didn't. Cause I don't remember her telling us." Kagome wanted to slam her head on the wall. In order to prove they put it in the right locker, they would have to take a picture of the name tag on the locker door. Just as she went to ask Sango a question, she heard the door of the locker room open. Ending the call, she pushed herself against the locker room and looked around the corner to see who it was.

"Ahh, Bokuto-san is really good after all." Kagome recognized the bubbly orange-haired kid as one of the members of the quick duo from Karasuno, Hinata Shoyo. Lucky for her, no one else was in the locker room and he was a first year.

"I wonder... mmgh!" Hinata's eyes widened as a hand covered his mouth and he was pinned against the wall of the locker room. He looked up to see a girl with brown hair and teal eyes staring him down, a black mask covering half her face and dressed in all black.

"You're on the volleyball team at Karasuno right?" Hinata nodded.

"Do you know the name of the setter for Fukurodani?" Kagome asked. Hinata nodded.

"If I let go of your mouth, will you tell me his name without screaming?" Kagome asked. Hinata nodded again rapidly, his eyes shaking with fear. Kagome chuckled, letting go of Hinata, who stayed silent.

"What's his name?" Kagome asked.

"Akaashi Keiji." Kagome nodded, gesturing for the boy to walk with her. Hinata watched as the girl walked up to the locker with Akaashi's name on it and slipped a white envelope into it before taking a picture of the name tag.

"Now, we're going to go outside. And you're going to keep quiet until we get out." Hinata nodded and began to walk ahead of Kagome. Once the two had left the locker room, they turned the corner and up ahead, Kagome could see Sango hiding in the shadows.

"It's done." Kagome called out and Sango slipped out of the shadows, scaring Hinata.

"He saw you?" Sango asked, her mask on so Hinata wouldn't recognize her in case the boys from Nekoma had spread the story.

"I had to ask him about the setter's name." Kagome told Sango as she joined Kagome by her side before looking down at Hinata.

"You're quite short for a volleyball player, aren't you?" Sango asked. Hinata's face went red as he opened his mouth to argue when Kagome cut him off.

"Shut up." Kagome elbowed Sango in the side.

"Wait, who are you? Are you guys secret agents or something? Are you going to kill me after all?" Hinata asked, his voice trembling slightly. Kagome checked the time on her phone. It was getting late and they still had to run back.

"We need to leave now." Kagome told Sango. Sango put her hand on his shoulder, pulling the smaller boy close to her.

"Tell anyone one what happened, and we'll be after you. We're watching you Hinata." Kagome told the boy in a lower voice, scaring the boy effectively. Sango and Kagome then turned their backs to Hinata and began to walk away towards the entrance of the school, when they heard Hinata call after them.

"Who are you? What are you?" Hinata asked again. Kagome turned around and stared Hinata dead in the eye.

"I'd tell you, but then, I'd have to kill you."

**ooo**

"Kuroo, you won't believe what just happened!" Bokuto came rushing into Nekoma's room, scaring a few first years. Kuroo was off to the side, lying on his futon chatting with Kenma, Lev and Hinata.

"You're too loud Bokuto. What is it?" Kuroo asked, noticing Akaashi slipping inside the room after Bokuto, keen on getting his captain to shut his mouth.

"Akaashi got a love letter." Those five words from Bokuto's mouth sent the room in a spiral of chaos.

"Akaashi, you got a love letter?" Kuroo asked, still reeling in shock of Bokuto's words. While Akaashi was rather known for having females interested in him, they would usually back off after seeing him with Bokuto. Most of the girls thought that Akaashi and Bokuto were dating due to Bokuto's clinginess.

"Hai." Akaashi sighed, hoping that Bokuto wouldn't go telling everyone, but once again, he knew his captain would do the exact opposite of what he wanted.

"Let's see it." Bokuto grabbed it out of his pajama pocket's and handed it over to Kuroo. The envelope caught Hinata's eyes as he realized what it was.

"She was going to kill me over a love letter?" Hinata shouted out with annoyance before clamping his hand over his mouth. 'They're going to kill me for telling!' Hinata thought as the boys in the room turned to stare at him.

"Shoyo, you know who it was? And who was trying to kill you?" Kenma asked, having set down his game consol.

"No one." Hinata replied.

"You clearly know. Tell me Shoyo." Kenma said staring into Hinata's eyes, who cracked from pressure.

"You can't tell anyone else or they're going to kill me." Hinata said, looking to his right and left, making sure there wasn't anyone spying on him before he told them what happened.

"This is similar to what happened at our school. Two girls broke into our school to take a picture with our volleyball banner. What did the girls look like?" Kuroo asked.

"One had black hair and the other had brown hair." Kuroo shook his head, telling Hinata that they must be different girls.

"The girl that got me in the locker room… she reminded me of someone. I just don't remember who."

**ooo**

"Why are they still here?" Kagome asked from her seat in the bus as she spotted the other teams' buses. It had been three days since Kagome and Sango had completed their task and made it back to Itachiyama in time for attendance. When asked for proof, they showed the picture of the locker tag. It was their last day in Tokyo and the Shiratorizawa Volleyball team had just pulled into Fukurodani's campus for their practice match.

"It's not like they're going to recognize you." Mirai told her. Kagome gave her a glare

"Stop dallying. We're on a schedule here. Let's go." The girls grabbed their volleyball bags and followed their coach to the gym that they would be having their practice match at. Once they got to the gym, the head coach of the Fukurodani team welcomed them and showed them to the locker room. As they were changing, Kagome noticed that she was missing her athletic tape for her wrist.

"I left something in the bus. Tell the Coach I went to go get it quickly." Kagome told one of the second years who was on their way to the gym, before running to the bus. Once she was on it, she walked down to her seat and began to look around. Luckily for her, she found it on the floor underneath her seat. Grabbing it, she got off the bus and began to walk back to the gym.

"Kageyama, did you see that? Nekoma is amazing!" Kagome recognized Hinata's voice nearby. As she was walking down the walkway to the gym, she saw Kageyama and Hinata walking towards her.

"Well, well. If it isn't the King. I heard you lost to Tooru during the Interhigh." Kageyama lifted his head, having recognized the voice and stared straight at Kagome. Kageyama noticed she was wearing purple shorts, a black shirt and purple jersey, and white volleyball shoes on her feet.

"Senpai… you…" Kageyama couldn't get the word out of his mouth. She looked like she had during his first few years at Kitagawa Daichi.

"Why did the Grand King turn into a girl?" Hinata asked. Kagome seemed familiar to him, but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"Urusai Hinata. That isn't Oikawa-san." Kageyama bonked Hinata on the head before turning to Kagome.

"I've changed senpai. And this time, I'll beat Oikawa-san." Kageyama said.

"We're going to beat Aoba Josai and Shiratorizawa and go to the Nationals." Hinata exclaimed, looking Kagome dead in the eye. Again, Hinata had this feeling that he knew her. There was no way he would forget eyes like these. Kagome smirked and began to walk towards them.

"You going to the Nationals? I'm sorry, but words coming from someone who lost to Aoba Josai during the preliminaries are rather hard to believe. If you want to see a fraction of what Shiratorizawa's power is like, you'd best watch closely." Kagome said, walking past Kageyama and Hinata. At first the two boys didn't understand what she had meant by her last sentence, but as they turned around to look at her, their eyes widened at the Shiratorizawa logo on her jersey.

"I thought she went to Seijou?" Kageyama said aloud.

"Shiratorizawa!" Hinata yelled out, running after the girl.

"Oi baka, we have training. Where are you going?" Kageyama yelled out to Hinata.

"Tell them I'll make it up later."

**ooo**

"There you are. I was just about to go have someone get you. The match is starting soon. Were you able to stretch?" The Coach asked.

"I'm good to go." Kagome said, and the two walked up to the rest of the regulars who were standing in a circle waiting.

"Sorry for making you wait." Sango grinned as she pulled Kagome into the circle. The Coach went to sit on the bench, knowing that Kagome would lead the team well.

"This is not just a practice match. This is where we will be during the Spring High, on the other side of the court as our opponents. So, don't treat today like a practice. Learn what you can from them, so we can use it against them later." Kagome told the girls, laying out their plan. The referee blew the whistle. The girls slipped off their jackets, Kagome taping her wrist, before standing behind Kagome in a group. As they began to walk forwards, Kagome turned around and grinned at them.

"All the stakes on this match. You know the drill." The girls grinned and made their way on to the court. Kagome met with the other captain and they shook hands, before the referee flipped the coin. Fukurodani started off with the ball.

"Let's blow this place up." Sango cracked her knuckles as she adjusted the weights on her wrists.

**ooo**

Hinata could do nothing but stare. It was overwhelming, the pressure he felt during the game. So, this was Shiratorizawa, the esteemed representative of the Miyagi Prefecture.

"I knew it. Shiratorizawa always wins." Hinata overheard one of the viewers say as they left the gym, before turning to the scoreboard.

"25-18. What was our school doing?" Hinata looked over to where the Shiratorizawa was huddled in a circle with their coach, and his eyes drew over specifically to the girl who had talked to Kageyama earlier.

"She's a setter just like the Grand King and Kageyama. How does Kageyama even know her?" Hinata mumbled. Noticing that the team was leaving to get changed, he began to leave the gym himself when Kageyama burst through the doors.

"Hinata-boke, you're in so much trouble. But we'll deal with that later. Where is she?" Kageyama asked, referring to the girl they had bumped into earlier.

"She went to the locker rooms to change. Wait, how do you know this girl?" Hinata said. Kageyama nodded before turning around and heading back out the gym doors.

"Where are you going Kageyama?" Hinata yelped as he ran after his teammate, who was already down the walkway.

"The locker room."

Meanwhile, the girls team was in the locker room changing into regular wear. They had the rest of the day off to sightsee and do as they please before they headed back to Shiratorizawa.

Kagome and Sango were the last two to get changed, having done a final roll call for the team. Both had no real plans for the day, seeing as they had visited Tokyo often for tournaments. Once the girls had changed, they left their bags in the lockers where they would be coming to get them at the end of the day. As they were heading towards the locker room door to leave, they heard familiar male voices outside.

"What if they left already?"

"Be quiet Hinata." Kagome and Sango opened the door to see Kageyama leaning against the wall with Hinata standing next to him.

"Did you boys need something? Or are you just waiting for the girls to change so you can peep on them?" Sango asked, cocking her head to the side.

"No that's not it. We're not peeping." Hinata put his hands up in a not-guilty fashion.

"Oh, are you trying to enter the girls locker room then?" Sango asked. Hinata's face went bright red as he ducked behind Kageyama slightly.

"Takahashi-senpai, that's not it." Sango finally let off of Hinata and turned to look at Kageyama.

"Just use my first name. It's good to see you Kageyama." Sango said. Kageyama nodded before turning to Kagome, who was giving him a blank look.

"I have a question. Hypothetically, let's say…" Kagome was quick to cut him off.

"Ne. Instead of beating around the bush, why don't you ask me directly?" Kageyama nodded hesitantly, before looking Kagome straight in the eye.

"Um, can I show you instead?" Kagome raised her eyebrows, somewhat surprised at the request.

"Why should I help you?" Hinata looked between Kageyama and the girl in front of them. It seemed like those two had history. He looked over to the other girl with them to see that she was sighing, as if this was not new to her.

"I'm not asking for help senpai. I just want you to see my play." Kageyama asked before bowing to Kagome, shocking the life out of Hinata. Hinata looked from Kageyama to the two girls to see that they were both shocked in some sense.

"Very well. Take me there." Kageyama nodded before walking ahead of Hinata, leading them to the gym where the boys were having their training. Hinata fell back behind Kagome, watching as she walked a step ahead of Kageyama, despite him being the one giving directions.

"Sorry you had to see that. Ah, I'm Sango by the way. You must be chibisuke, right?" Hinata looked to his right to see the other girl smiling down at him.

"Chibisuke? I'm Hinata Shoyo. Ah, do you know the Grand King?" Sango nodded.

"I know him through her." Sango said, gesturing to Kagome ahead of them. Hinata looked over to Kageyama and the girl.

"I was meaning to ask, but are they always like that? How do you guys know each other?" Hinata asked, referring back to their tense conversation from earlier.

"It's not my place to tell you." Sango said, and Hinata nodded, knowing not to ask further.

"You're rather short for a volleyball player, aren't you? And you're a middle blocker? Aren't you cute?" Hinata couldn't stop blushing the whole way, but at the back of his mind, those first couple words seemed to strike a chord in him. The group of four had made their way to the gym where the Fukurodani Group was having their training camp. Kageyama went in first, before holding the net for Kagome and Sango to enter.

"Do you still have your training session going on now?" Sango asked, as they entered the gym to see boys practicing volleyball about the gym.

"We're on a lunch break right now." Kageyama said, before gesturing for Kagome to come to the first court.

"Kagome, are you going to watch? Or are you going to teach him something?" Sango asked as Kagome was walking aside her.

"Kageyama and I have our differences. Despite that, I think I'd like to see for myself this quick Tooru talks about." Kagome told Sango. Sango nodded, taking Kagome's purse from her before heading over to the bench and settling down.

"Please watch senpai." Kageyama told Kagome, asking her to stand on the other side of the court, before yelling for Hinata to toss the ball. Kagome watched, as Kageyama had requested, as Hinata tossed the ball into the air and began to run.

She watched as Kageyama positioned himself under the ball, ready to set the ball, the miniscule adjustments he made to Hinata's run. And then suddenly, Kagome could only stare in surprise as the ball went rushing past her, the force causing her hair to blow slightly as the ball crashed onto the floor.

"So, this is what Tooru was talking about." Kagome mumbled as she stared at the black and orange duo ahead of her on the other side of the net.

"Show me again." Kagome told Kageyama. Kageyama looked at her and nodded, before grabbing another ball and passing it to Hinata. Once again, Hinata tossed the ball to Kageyama and started to run. Again, the ball whisked past Kagome's head. But this time, she watched both player's actions and not the ball. She ran the simulation in her head over and over again, picking up their body language and using knowledge of their skills.

"Again." The third time, it was different. Kagome watched the movements that Hinata made as he began his fast dash towards the net, the spin that Kageyama put on the ball and she moved.

"Uso…" Hinata stared in utter shock. The ball didn't hit the ground until two seconds later. Both Kageyama and Hinata looked at the girl across the net, at Kagome, who had stopped their quick.

"Kageyama, how do you know her? She just stopped our quick after seeing it for the first time." Hinata asked the taller boy, pointing at Kagome.

"That's my senpai from Kitagawa Daichi. You've already met her before. Remember at Seijou?" Kageyama told Hinata, still looking over in Kagome's direction as she began to walk towards them, holding the volleyball in her hands.

"Ahh. The one that the Grand King was with. But she looks different now. Are they related?" Hinata said.

"No. They're childhood friends. She changed her hair and eye color during junior high for some reason, but she's changed back." Kageyama said before quieting down after the girl came closer. Hinata couldn't put his finger on it, but something about her reminded him about someone else he had met before.

"Is that all?" Kagome asked, rubbing her hand over her left wrist, before looking at Kageyama. He nodded and bowed to Kagome, thanking her. Sango walked up and stood next to her.

"That quick was really good. I'm surprised." Sango said, giving the two boys her honest opinion before looking at Kagome.

"With this, you won't beat Aoba Josai, let alone Shiratorizawa." Kagome told Kageyama.

**ooo**

"Just wait until training. I'll make sure you're begging to go home." Yaku said, cracking his knuckles as he sent a glare at Lev.

"Yaku-san, I will train hard. After all, I'm going to be the next ace!" Lev said, giving the shorter boy a grin.

"Make sure you actually practice your blocking instead of letting the balls pass through your arms." Yamamoto told Lev, causing the boy to turn his head to look at the older boy.

"Of course, I will senpai. I'm going to take your place and be the ––." And it was then that Lev felt a sense of déjà vu as he looked down into a pair of teal green eyes. For some reason, though the color was different, he felt a sense of familiarity.

"Senpai, are you ok?"

"Lev, get off of her!" Lev finally snapped out of his daze and stood up, before giving a hand to the girl still on the floor.

"Sumimasen. I wasn't watching where I was going." Lev said, bowing to the girl.

"It's fine. We were just leaving." The girl replied and Lev looked at her, standing back to his full height.

"Are you okay?" Lev turned to see what had talked when he saw a familiar face walk up to the girl with her purse.

"I'm fine. Don't worry."

"Sango-senpai? Is that you?" Lev finally blurted out, staring at the girl with black hair. Her eyes widened as she passed over the other girl's purse.

"It's been a while Lev. How are you?" Sango asked. Lev nodded before telling his tale about training hard with his team but not managing to get to Nationals.

"Who are you?" Yaku finally asked, butting into Lev's story telling.

"It's rude to ask for someone's name without introducing yourself. Didn't you know?" Everyone turned to the girl with brown hair who had spoken.

"I'm not the one who's not supposed to be here." Yaku replied.

"I see no sign saying that we can't visit." The girl retorted. Kenma had put his game console down and was watching Yaku's interaction with the stranger. She reminded him of the way Kuroo and Akaashi talked.

"Sango-senpai, is Kagome-senpai here with you? I don't see her here." Lev said. Kageyama and Hinata were confused. He was asking about the girl that was here, but he didn't know.

"Lev, what are you talking about? She's right here." Hinata said, gesturing to the other girl with them. Sango put her hand to her forehead and sighed, knowing this was going to get messy if Lev talked too much.

"Kagome-senpai?" Lev asked, confused as to why she looked so different.

"That would be me Lev." Kagome responded, nodding in the boy's direction.

"Why do you look different? Are you ok? I'm sorry for bumping into you again." Lev bowed again, apologizing.

"It's fine. This is how I really look." Kagome told the boy.

"it's good to see you again." Lev replied, ruffling the hair on the back of his head.

"Hai. We need to get going now so please excuse us." Sango said, nodding in their direction.

"This time, we'll get to the Nationals and you can watch." Lev told Kagome, and she nodded.

"I look forward to seeing you there." Kagome told him as she began to make her way out the door with Sango when Hinata called out to her.

"We will win. We will be the prefecture's representatives to the Spring High." Hinata butt in, looking at Kagome with determination in his eyes. Kagome's eyes briefly widened as she pulled a small smirk on her face. Hinata's eyes were drawn to the expression on her face, his eyes widening slightly.

"I'll wait till I see that for myself."

**ooo**

"Urusai you annoying owl." Kuroo bit out as he, Bokuto, Akaashi, Hinata and Tsukishima were leaving one of the practice gyms. The group had separated into teams and had been rallying back and forth, until it was time for them to go rest for tomorrow's training.

"Try me Kuroo!" Bokuto yelled back and the two began to argue back and forth. Akaashi sighed, having to deal with this on a regular basis since the two teams met up often to practice together.

"Will you two be quiet? It's late out." Akaashi finally bit out, and the two immediately stopped arguing, scared that Akaashi would get mad at them.

"Are we going to practice again tomorrow night?" Hinata asked Bokuto, hoping he would be able to teach him some more tricks.

"Of course we are." Bokuto grinned, ruffling Hinata's hair. Hinata grinned and continued to chatter with Bokuto in a light manner as they made their way towards the main building when they heard Lev's voice coming from nearby.

"What's Lev doing now?" Kuroo groaned as he made his way to Lev's voice, with the rest of the group following behind.

"Just one senpai!" They heard Lev ask.

"That's what your teammate is for Lev. How did you even know I was here?" A girl replied back.

"Ah, my sister gave me a call. Please! I want to show you much I've improved." Lev's voice pleaded.

"You know I'm not wearing shoes, right?"

"You have your bag with you right now, which means that you must have had a practice earlier today. Which means, you have to have your shoes in your practice bag." There was a long pause before the girl replied.

"Fine. What gym can we use?" The group of boys rounded the corner to see Lev talking with a petit girl, roughly a foot shorter than him. She was decked in denim jeans, a black off shoulder blouse and sandals. On her shoulder, she had a purse and purple volleyball bag with her.

"This way." Lev grinned and began to lead the smaller girl towards the gym he had been previously practicing in.

"You're lucky I'm friends with your sister Lev." The girl told him.

"That's Kageyama's senpai. She's the one I was telling you about, the one that stopped our quick earlier." Hinata said, watching the two walk down the walkway. He didn't notice the shocked looks that appeared on some of the other's faces.

"Not so unstoppable after all, huh Hinata." Tsukishima said, his face showing no expression, but his eyes were gleaming with curiosity as to who this girl was and how she stopped their team's impossible quick.

"Urusai. It took her three tries and then she just went up to it and received it." Hinata replied.

"Let's follow them." Bokuto began to walk ahead, following the two. Akaashi followed after his captain, along with the others trailing behind.

"What did you do in Tokyo today?" Lev asked, as they entered the gym.

"Not much. We went to the Sky Tree and checked out Ginza." Kagome replied, having set her purse and bag down on the bench as she began to slip her sandals off.

"Did you go shopping? What did you get?" Lev asked. Kagome grabbed her volleyball shoes out of her bag along with a spare pair of socks and began to put them on.

"We just checked out a few stores and had lunch there." Kagome told him, as she began to lace her shoes, double knotting them.

"That sounds like fun. I was training all day. Yaku-san was getting mad at me because I couldn't receive properly." Lev talked about what he did all day while Kagome strapped the medical tape on her wrist and tied her hair up into a ponytail. Bokuto and the others were all crowded around the door to the gym, waiting to see what would happen.

"What does she play?" Kuroo asked.

"Setter. Kageyama even admitted that was better than him." Tsukishima looked down at Hinata.

"How many can I get?" Lev stared at Kagome, holding a volleyball in his hands, ready to play.

"My bus leaves soon. So, let's keep it to one time, ok?" Kagome told Lev.

"Last time? Kuroo, she's played with Lev before?" Bokuto asked the Nekoma captain.

"I don't know Bo." Kuroo replied.

"She was here earlier. With another girl that Kageyama knew. And Lev seemed to know both of them. I believe Yaku-san and your ace were there as well." Hinata told the others.

"Kagome-senpai, are you ready?" Lev asked. The group watching from outside went silent, as Kagome replied with a yes. Lev threw the ball towards Kagome and began to run towards the net. Once again, after she had positioned herself under the ball, she watched Lev's movements, familiarizing herself with his playing style. After analyzing his positioning and speed, she waited for the ball to touch her fingers before she propelled it high and fast into the air towards Lev. Lev grinned as he saw the ball arch high in the air and like a whip, his arm came swinging around. Kuroo immediately recognized that set. There had been a girl that had come by months ago, more like broken into their school, with the name Kagome and was able to adjust to Lev's unpredictable playing style.

"It's her." Kuroo said, standing up from his crouched position, as the ball was slammed onto the other side of the court. Even though the ball had gone out of bounds, being able to match up with Lev was an impressive feat.

"What do you mean Kuroo?" Bokuto asked.

"Remember how I told you how Lev had played with two girls that broke into the gym when we were on a run? That's the one that set to him." Kuroo said, gesturing to the girl that was now giving Lev pointers on his running and arm positioning. Kuroo lifted the net covering the door and walked inside, causing Lev to flinch in surprise when Kuroo called out to him. Akaashi and Tsukishima walked in, seeing as Bokuto and Hinata had run in after Kuroo and were bound to cause some sort of incident.

"You're the famous Kagome we've heard about, aren't you? The one that broke into our gym a few months back with your friend." Kuroo asked, narrowing his eyes on the girl. Immediately, Kagome furrowed her brows and looked back at Kuroo.

"Like I said to your libero, it's not breaking in if there's no sign. And you are?" Kagome told him. Lev felt the intensity of their stares and backed away from the two, bumping into Hinata.

"Hinata, what are you doing here?" Lev asked. Hinata told him how they heard him, and Kagome talking and had followed them.

"You know Kagome-senpai too?" Lev tilted his head.

"She stopped our quick earlier. But Kageyama knows her better. They went to junior high together." Hinata told him.

"Why were you on our school grounds? And why were you playing with our first year?" Kuroo asked, bringing the attention in the small gym back to him.

"We came to take a picture with your banner. As for Lev, he asked for a toss." Kagome said, shrugging her shoulders, before giving Kuroo a hard stare.

"Besides, there's no proof that we actually came. So, unless you plan on presenting me with some, I suggest you back down." Kagome told Kuroo. Bokuto raised his eyebrows. In his three years of knowing Kuroo, this was the first person who was able to match his confrontation-like talking style besides Kenma and Akaashi.

"Maa maa. It all worked out for the best didn't it?" Bokuto finally cut in, causing the two to let off on their stares and turn their attention to Bokuto.

"And you are?" Kagome asked.

"I'm Bokuto Koutaro, 3rd year captain of the Fukurodani team." Bokuto grinned. Kagome looked him over before nodding her head in acceptance.

"I'm Hinata Shoyo, 1st year at Karasuno." Hinata introduced himself, bowing to Kagome. Bokuto then dragged Akaashi closer to Kagome, keeping his arm around the younger boy's the whole time.

"This is my setter, Akaashi." Akaashi gave his captain a look before turning to Kagome.

"Akaashi Keiji. 2nd year at Fukurodani." Kagome's eyes widened by a fraction at the sound of his name. Unknowingly, someone managed to spot that small movement.

"Tsukishima Kei, 1st year at Karasuno." Tsukishima said in a monotone voice as he looked down at Kagome.

"Are you going to introduce yourself Kuroo?" Bokuto said, snapping Kuroo out of his daze.

"Kuroo Tetsuro. 3rd year captain at Nekoma." Kuroo said, crossing his arms over his chest. Kagome opened her mouth to introduce herself as customs required when Sango popped her head into the gym.

"Kagome, this is where you've been. I've been looking all over for you. The bus is gonna leave soon. We got to go." Sango said in between pants. Kagome nodded as she went to grab her bag from the bench, pulling out her jersey and switching into her sandals.

"Don't you think its rude to not introduce yourself?" Kagome was heading to the exit when she turned around to see that it was the tall blonde that had called out to her.

"Shirabu Kagome." Kagome said as she slipped her volleyball jersey on, switching her bag from one hand to the other as she did.

"3rd year, captain at Shiratorizawa." Kagome finally made it to the exit and was about to leave when Lev yelled out to her.

"Give me another toss when you come to visit." Lev waved. Kagome nodded, before leaving the gym.

"Shiratorizawa?" Kuroo mumbled before whacking Lev over the head. Lev whined in pain before asking what he did wrong.

"Why are you asking someone from Shiratorizawa for a toss? You do realize that in a match Kenma will be the one tossing to you, right?" Kuroo told the younger boy.

"Kenma ran away from me when I asked to practice more. And I saw Kagome-senpai walking by and thought I would ask her." Lev told him.

"Why is she here anyways? Shiratorizawa is far from here." Akaashi asked.

"Ah, Shiratorizawa was here for a practice match with Fukurodani earlier today. That's why I skipped an hour of training." Hinata told them.

"Daichi-san is going to be mad if he finds out that's the reason why you ditched." Tsukishima told Hinata, causing the boy to get flustered.

"Practice match? How did it go?" Bokuto asked Hinata, wondering what the skill of the girls team was like.

"They won two sets in a row. 25-20 and 25-18."

**ooo**

"Satori get off me. You're heavy." Kagome bit out, trying not to kick her brother's boyfriend off of her. It had been a few weeks since her training camp with Itachiyama and practice match with Fukurodani. The qualifiers were just three months away. The coach had given them a day off after their practice match with some former students, so she had taken to lounging on the couch watching Itachiyama's practice matches. It wasn't long till her brother and Satori had come back from their practice session with a nearby college. After Tendo had come out of the shower with clean clothes on, Shirabu went after, leaving Tendo to bother Kagome.

"Did you miss me? Of course you did." Tendo said, stretching his lanky limbs as he made himself comfortable on the couch. Kagome grumbled as she managed to get out from under Tendo, only for him to pull her into a tight grasp.

"What are you up to?" Tendo asked. Kagome sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"It's our day off, so I'm watching Itachiyama's matches. There's got to be some hole in their defense." Tendo looked at the girl that was practically lying on him. Her eyes were solely focused on the tv where a volleyball match was playing, her eyes darting around trying to capture the other teams playing strategies.

"Have you eaten dinner?" Kagome shook her head.

"I order Chinese noodles and dumplings." Tendo grinned, ruffling Kagome's hair to which she grumbled at. Tendo then began to watch the matches with her, occasionally telling her things he saw. Shirabu had come out of the shower to see his boyfriend holding his sister in a bear hug while watching volleyball matches and decided to get some of his summer homework done at the tatami table. It was close to the end of the second match they watched together, when Kagome's eyes caught something, and she straightened her body. Tendo felt her moving and looked down at her to see that she was focused on the tv, her lips stretched out into a grin.

"Find something?" Tendo asked. Kagome nodded, as she rewinded the match and began to track each player's movements as they positioned themselves for defense. The doorbell rang, signaling that their takeout was here. Seeing as Kagome was fixated on the match, Tendo shifted himself off the couch and went to answer the bell.

"I've finally figured it out." Kagome grinned as she grabbed her phone from the tatami table and pulled up the volleyball group chat.

"Think you'll be able to figure something out?" Shirabu asked his sister, taking a break. Kagome nodded, seeing Sango's contact appear on the call. Taking the call, she told her brother that she would eat later and headed off to her room.

"What happened?" Tendo asked, having brought the takeout to the tatami table. He took the dishes out of the plastic bag and set them out, handing Shirabu a pair of chopsticks.

"She saw something in the match. And now she's on the phone with Sango, probably discussing some sort of plan." Shirabu told his boyfriend as he dug into the noodles. The two casually chatted, enjoying their dinner.

"I'll take this to her then." Shirabu said, having served some food onto a ceramic plate before heading over to Kagome's room while Tendo packed the leftovers up and put them in the fridge.

"Nee-san." Shirabu knocked on his sisters door. There was no answer, but he could hear her voice faintly through the door. Opening the door, he walked in to see her desk covered in drawings and writing, and his sister on the phone.

"Must it be this weekend?" Kagome asked the person on the other side of the phone. There was a pause while the caller answered.

"Does Kenjiro need to be there?" Another pause. Kagome sighed, putting her hand to her forehead, before agreeing.

"Very well. Send Haru over. I'll come after practice." Kagome said, ending the call, before turning to her brother.

"Who was that?" Shirabu asked, setting the plate of food down on the desk.

"That was Obaa-sama. She wants me to come home this weekend." Kagome told her brother as she sat down on the bed, gesturing for her brother to join her.

"Why? Is everything ok?" Kagome nodded as Shirabu sat on her bed.

"There's some things that, as the heir, I have to go deal with apparently." Kagome said.

"Can't I go in your place? Seeing as I'll be the one taking over instead of you." Shirabu asked.

"It was never made official that I declined my claim. Until that is legally done, for now, I'll go and see what is up. I'll let you know everything."

**ooo**

"We've arrived, Ojou-sama." Her driver, Haru, opened the door, letting Kagome out of the car. Once she was out, Haru went to bring her luggage inside the house. Kagome walked up the steps, taking in her childhood home, before entering the large house.

"Welcome home, Ojou-sama. Your grandmother is in the tearoom." Kagome nodded, telling Haru to have her bags sent to her room, before walking through the house. As she walked through the halls, she looked at the portraits on the wall. When she made it to the tearoom, she knocked on the door and waited for an answer.

"Come in." Kagome heard her grandmother's voice call out, and she opened the door.

"Tadaima Obaa-sama." Kagome said, greeting her grandmother as she walked into the room. It was an open room. There were two pearl-colored couches with a deep mahogany tatami table in between. The windows across from the door had a doorway that led to the inner garden.

"Okairi Kagome." Kagome took a seat across from her grandmother, thanking her for the tea, before taking a sip.

"What did you call me down here for?" Kagome asked, setting the cup and saucer down on the table.

"Since my son and his wife passed away, they made me in charge of a few things. The most important one being you and Kenjiro's well-being. Another was the future of the company. Right now, your uncle is managing the company, but when you come of age and graduate from university, you will begin your training to take over." Obaa-sama told Kagome.

"Kenjiro and I talked about this, and he wants to be the one to take over the company. I don't have any interest in it." Kagome told her grandmother.

"Is that so?" Obaa-sama asked, and Kagome nodded.

"Very well. Then Kenjiro will have to come then." Kagome frowned slightly, before asking what she had been originally called down for.

"This news is for the heir only, my dear, as it only pertains them." Obaa-sama told her.

"Obaa-sama, I beg your pardon, but I am the heir right now. Until it is official that I relinquish my claim, I am still the heir." Kagome told her grandmother. Obaa-sama gave Kagome a good look, and it was then that Kagome was reminded where she had gotten her calculating stare from.

"Very well." Obaa-sama said, opening the envelope and pulling out its content.

"What is that?" Kagome asked, gesturing to the things her grandmother was holding.

"This envelope has been sealed and was to be kept sealed until the parents, or guardian in this case, allowed for the heir to know." Obaa-sama said, handing Kagome the written letter.

"Why are you giving me this now?" Kagome asked.

"You will be graduating soon. Since you will be busy with sports and your studies, I felt that it was best to tell you now. Not to mention, you will have to make a choice as to whether you would like to hand over your claim to heirship to Kenjiro." Obaa-sama said. Kagome read over the letter, her head lifting when she had finished it.

"Arranged marriage?" Kagome asked.

"Yes. But not for you necessarily." Obaa-sama said, referring to the contract that she held in her hands. Kagome reached over, grabbing the contract from her grandmother and read it over herself.

"So, it's a marriage for the heir."

**ooo**


	4. Chapter 4

**And back with another chapter. It took me a little bit to gather some background knowledge about the events happening during this chapter, so I apologize for the delay. I hope you all the chapter. Again, editing rights go the Fat King Pig.**

**ooo**

_It was inevitable. It was bound to happen eventually. So what made this year any different than the rest? Oh right. It was her last year, and her friends had something planned for her. It definitely didn't help that her brother's friends weren't on her side either. If only she had an identical twin that could take her place._

**ooo**

"You must be joking." Kagome said, but her grandmother shook her head. Looking down, Kagome read over the finer details of the contract.

"I'll have Kenjiro come in as soon as he can, so he may know where his responsibility lies." Kagome looked up at her grandmother.

"Obaa-sama, is this contract life bound?" Kagome asked. If the heir had to get married, certainly there must be stipulations.

"It is. So I suggest you tell Kenjiro to cut off his relationship with his lover." Kagome could hear the slight tension in her grandmother's voice when Tendo was brought up. It seemed like the elders still hadn't warmed up to the idea of Kenjiro and Tendo being in a relationship.

"He's in a happy relationship Obaa-sama. I don't want to ruin that for him. He's already been through so much these past couple years." Kagome told her grandmother.

"Kagome. The contract will be upheld and one of you, whoever it is, will have to pay the small price. I understand this is a hard decision. Believe me, if I were to change it, I would. But it is not possible." Kagome bit her lip.

"Small price? You mean to say that Kenjiro's freedom is just a small price to pay. Our lives aren't just toys for you to―"

"Listen very closely young lady. I have worked very hard with our lawyers to find a loophole in this contract. Unfortunately, your mother and father didn't leave anything out. By the time you graduate, one of you will be signing the papers to officially declare the heir of the company. I was given strict instructions from your parents to make sure this goes through."

"One of you will have to sign the papers before or by the time of your graduation. If you do not make a decision, I am bound, by the rules of the contract, to disown you."

**ooo**

"Are you going?" Kagome looked up from her book to see Sango's eyes looking up at her. Sango got tired of sitting up and had fallen to the side, laying her head in Kagame's lap as the elder girl read a book. Mirai and Rin had gotten heavily involved in their video game and were currently cursing each other out as they played.

"Going to what?" Kagome asked setting her book aside.

"The Hanabi festival of course. What else did you think I was talking about?" Sango asked, raising her eyebrows at Kagome.

"Might as well. It'll be my last one before I graduate. Are we going together?" Kagome asked and Sango nodded, briefing Kagome about their plans for the upcoming festival.

"And yes, you have to do your hair." Kagome sighed, nodding her head. Once Sango was done giving the details, Kagome went over them to make sure she didn't miss anything.

"So, just to be clear, we'll be getting ready at your place, take pictures and all. Then your mom has agreed to drive us down to Tokyo for the festival and back. In other words, the usual." Sango nodded.

"What color are you going to wear?" Kagome turned to see that Rin and Mirai had switched their attention from the game they were losing at to their conversation.

"I don't know yet. I think I'll wear one of my mom's this year." Kagome told them. Sango looked at her friend and lifted herself into a sitting position.

"Are you sure? You don't have to if you don't want to." Sango told her. Kagome shook her head and told Sango not to worry.

"I'll be fine. It'll be a nice way to honor my mother. She did love this festival after all." Kagome gave them a bittersweet smile. Noticing the mood was going down, Rin quickly jabbed at Sango's lack of a date and how she had dragged them into coming with her. This action, of course, caused Sango to chase after Rin with Mirai and Kagome laughing as the girls chased each other around the room.

**ooo**

The rest of the summer had flown by fast. The girls' team had their own training camp held at the school and had invited another college team nearby. There was a week before the term started and the Spring Tournament preliminaries were to start in a few days.

"Hurry up Sango. I need to use the bathroom." Mirai yelled, slamming her fist on Sango's bathroom door. The girls were in the process of getting ready for the festival. It was the last day, meaning that there would be a grand display of fireworks at the end of the night and the girls weren't going to miss it. Sango finally got out of the bathroom, letting Mirai in to use it. Sango had finished getting ready first, decked in a dark red kimono with blackbirds decorating the fabric, a black obi wrapped around her waist. She had done her hair into a side braid with a red clip pinning her bangs back.

Kagome and Rin were at Sango's dressing table, Kagome currently wrapping Rin's long black hair into an elegant chignon and sticking purple pins into it. Once her hair was ready, Rin grabbed her kimono from the bed and began to undress. Once she had put the kimono on, she began to tie the bow and fix the seams.

"Sit." Sango said, gesturing for Kagome to sit in the chair that Rin had been occupying until then. Kagome sat down, and Sango grabbed her brush and began to brush Kagome's hair.

"I still can't believe we've been going to this festival for five years now. I feel old." Sango said as she began to curl Kagome's hair with the hair curler.

"Sango, you are old." Kagome bluntly pointed out to her friend, laughing as Sango pouted at her.

"We'll still go next year right, even though you're going to college right? You and me as always?" Sango asked. Kagome nodded, careful not to ruin Sango's work so far. Once Sango had curled Kagome's hair, she began to weave it in and out, creating a beautiful waterfall of curls that fell down Kagome's back. Kagome pulled a few strands into the front to frame her face while Sango stuck white gem-embellished pins into her curls.

"Okay, now go change. I'm going to make sure Mirai is done." Sango said before whisking herself away to find Mirai. Kagome went over to Sango's closet where her mother's old kimono hung and took it out. She took off the silk robe she was wearing and slipped on the kimono and wrapped the obi around her waist, before looking at herself in the mirror. It was a little shocking for Kagome to see herself, being a spitting image of her mother. The dark blue kimono had beautiful white flowers growing up from the bottom of the fabric, and the white obi was tied around her waist to match the flowers.

"It looks gorgeous on you." Kagome looked up in the mirror to see Rin standing behind her and smiled at the younger girl. Behind Rin, she saw Mirai had finished getting ready as well. She was wearing a striped white kimono with large orange and red flowers on it, with a red obi tied around her waist.

"Girls, are you ready to go?" Sango's mom yelled from downstairs. The girls quickly checked to make sure they were ready and grabbed their purses before heading down the stairs.

"Don't you all look lovely. Picture time." Sango's mom said as she and her husband had the girls stand in the living room and took a few pictures.

"Mom, let's go. We can take pictures there too."

**ooo**

"Beautiful as always." Sango said as the four girls began to track down the main path, checking out the booths as they went. The Hanabi Festival was in full swing, lanterns lit up and strung all over the streets. Tons of people were walking around, stopping at booths and talking amongst each other. The four girls had stopped by a dango vendor and bought a few flavors before continuing down the path.

Rin and Sango found a balloon popping game and were currently going at that while Mirai was pulling Kagome towards the Scooping Fish game.

"That'll be 100 yen." Mirai pulled the change from her purse and gave it to the vendor, who in exchange gave her a paddle.

"Which one should I get?" Mirai said once she was crouched next to the pool of fish along with a few other kids. She looked around before spotting a small black and white fish and reached her paddle in to get it. Kagome was standing next to Mirai as the older girl tried to go for the fish. Eventually, after some time of struggling, she managed to get the fish out of the pool and into the small bowl given to her.

"Good job." Kagome said as Mirai stood up with the fishbowl in her hand and went to get it bagged from the vendor. Her attention was pulled back to the pool of fish when she heard a sigh come from below her. Just next to her was a little boy, probably about 4 or 5 years old.

"Are you trying to get a fish?" Kagome asked the little boy, crouching down next to the boy. The boy looked up at her and she saw bright gold eyes peering up at her.

"I want one. But I don't have money with me." The boy mumbled back in a quiet voice. Looking up, Kagome noticed that Mirai had wandered back to where Sango and Rin were still playing before looking down at the boy.

"Where are your parents? Did you get lost?" The boy nodded, tightening his grip on his knees.

"My brother is always spending time with his friends. So I got mad and ran away from him. And now I can't find him." The boy's eyes began to water. Kagome told the little boy to wait for a bit before going and paying for another paddle. Having played this game as a child, Kagome easily slipped her paddle in the water and began to move it around.

"Which one do you think is the prettiest?" Kagome asked the little boy. The boy looked around before pointing out a dark blue fish with a white streak going down its side. Nodding, Kagome moved her paddle next to the fish and with a swift movement, she paddled the fish out of the pool and into the small fishbowl.

"It's cute, isn't it?" Kagome smiled, showing the little boy the fish she got. Gesturing for the little boy to come with her, Kagome went up to the vendor who took the bowl and paddle and bagged the fish for her before handing it back to her.

"Here you go." The boy's golden eyes landed on the bag before looking up at Kagome.

"For me?" Kagome nodded. The boy reached out with his hands and grabbed the bag and gave Kagome a hug.

"Thanks, Onee-chan." Kagome cracked a rare smile at the boy and patted his head before he let go and started to admire the fish in his bag.

"What's your name?" Kagome asked the boy.

"Akira." Akira grinned up at Kagome. Kagome heard her name being called from behind her and turned to see her friends walking up to her with masks on the side of their heads.

"We're going to head over to see the dancers perform." Sango went to continue but stopped at the sight of a small boy at Kagome's feet.

"Did you kidnap a kid?" Sango asked with a look of horror on her face. Kagome shook her head, slapping Sango over the head before explaining the situation.

"Why don't you hang out with us? We'll help you find your brother." Akira nodded his head. Grabbing Kagome's hand in one and holding his fish bag in the other, they began to walk towards the dance performances.

"I can't see them." Akira said, standing on his tippy toes to look at the dancers. Kagome crouched down and picked Akira up before setting the boy on her hip.

"Sugoi!" Akira said, his eyes wide with excitement as he watched the fast-paced dancing. Kagome smiled up at Akira, unaware of her friend's gaze on her.

"She's good with kids. I guess it came with helping with her brother." Rin whispered and Sango nodded back, having been there with Kagome while it happened.

"I wonder how they're able to dance like that." Akira asked aloud once the performance had ended. Kagome had set him back on the ground and they were walking to check out a few more booths while looking out for Akira's brother.

"It took hours of practice and the ability to trust one another. That kind of dancing doesn't just happen overnight." Akira looked up at Sango.

"You know Akira, all four of us are on a volleyball team at our school. It's like a family away from home. It's where we train together, laugh together, cry together." Sango told him before looking over at Kagome who was buying fish biscuits with Rin.

"I consider Kagome to be an older sister, you know. We may be only a few months apart in age, but she's the type that will stick up for you and will help you when you need it. Isn't your brother the same?" Sango asked. Akira thought about it. His brother had been there for everything. His first steps, his first words, his first day of school, when he was first picked on for having white hair. And the whole time, his brother stuck by him with a smile on his face.

"Mmm." Akira nodded, feeling bad about running away from his brother.

"I don't fear her having other friends, because I know that there's a special place in her heart for me, as annoying as I can get." Sango told him, smiling as Kagome laughed with Rin and Mirai.

"I want to say sorry to my brother." Sango grinned and tugged his hand, pulling Akira towards her friends. Kagome saw them coming and lifted out a fish biscuit in his direction, letting go once he had grabbed it. She had gotten Akira an extra mask, one of an owl, and slipped it on the boy's head.

"We might be able to find your brother in the fireworks field. Let's find a spot on the hill before it gets crowded." Akira nodded, rushing over to Kagome's hand and grabbing it. The five of them began to walk out of the crowded street into the field and found a nice hill that had the perfect view of the field below.

"What does your brother look like?" Kagome asked the small boy.

"He's really tall. And has black and white hair. And eyes like mine." Akira replied, looking down at the crowd of people, hoping to spot his brother and his friends.

"I don't see him. Do you know what he was dressed in?"

"He was wearing a black kimono. Oh, and he's really loud." Akira replied, stretching on to his toes to see further. A couple minutes went by and the group still couldn't spot Akira's brother or his friends. Kagome looked down at Akira ready to ask a question when she felt a pair of slender arms wrap around her from behind.

"Milaya! I missed you." Kagome turned her head to see Arisa, Lev's older sister standing behind her. Pulling out of the elder girls' arms, she looked at Arisa properly. The girl was wearing a green kimono with beautiful white swirls and geometric shapes on them, along with a pale yellow obi tied at her waist. Arisa smiled and pulled Kagome in for a tight hug before waving hi to the other girls. Kagome quickly introduced Arisa to her teammates and to Akira before asking what the elder girl was doing here.

"Lev invited me to go to the festival with his and his team, so I joined them. But then I recognized you in the crowd and tried to find you. It's been too long." Arisa said.

"It really has. Sorry I haven't been able to come visit you. It's been a very busy summer." Kagome smiled. With the help of Sango, Arisa was brought up to date on the situation at hand, as Arisa turned to look at Akira, who had taken to hiding behind Kagome.

"So, you're trying to help Akira-kun find his older brother." Arisa said, giving a small smile and waving at Akira.

"Do you by chance know where he is? He's got black and white hair, and is apparently very loud." Kagome said, giving Arisa the description she was given.

"I can't say I've seen anyone by that description tonight. Then again, I left Lev and his teammates very early to have fun without them hovering around." Arisa told Kagome. Already feeling bad about leaving his brother, but the fact that he didn't know how to get back started to get to Akira and the boy began to cry.

"How do we get him to stop?" Sango mumbled as Kagome pulled the little boy in front of her and tried to calm him down by patting his hair. If anything, it made him cry harder.

"Sing to him." Arisa said, as if it was the obvious answer, gaining odd looks from the girls.

"I used to do it to Lyovochka when he got upset." Arisa told Kagome, who was still unsure about the idea.

"Do you have a song that comes to mind?" Mirai asked. Kagome nodded, the memory of her mother singing to her and Kenjiro playing in her head. Shoving aside the pain that she felt inside, Kagome knelt down on the grass and pulled the boy into her arms. She ignored the worried look that Sango gave her when she had gotten on the ground with her mother's kimono on.

_In my eye and in my way_

_In the sky so far away_

_Are you hiding in the grey_

_I am on my way to find you_

_In the shadow where you lay_

_In the darkness, I'll be praying_

_One by one in a lonely lullaby_

Akira had pulled back to see Kagome singing softly down to him, tears still running down his face. Kagome used her thumbs to brush the tears away.

_Dancing like a lonely feather_

_In the windy weather_

_Looking for a beacon and some clarity_

_Long to fly again together_

_And I wonder whether _

_We will ever find our melody_

Rin and Mirai looked on with awe, not having seen Kagome sing before. Arisa and Sango, on the other hand, were giving Kagome sorrowful looks.

_Over mountain and below the stars_

_Light my way so I know where you are_

_And find me_

_Anywhere and anytime I sing my song for you_

"Akira!" Akira whipped around having heard his brother's voice yelling out his name. Seeing his brother run towards him from the large crowd of people, Akira looked up at Kagome. His eyes caught the lone tear that fell down her cheek and the smile that grew on her face as she turned him around.

_My tomorrow my today_

_it is time for you to find your way_

**ooo**

"Akira!" Bokuto yelled, spotting him in the arms of a girl. Behind him was the rest of the regulars of the volleyball team. They were all helping him look for Akira. Akira began to run towards Bokuto after looking back at the girl and crashed into the elder's legs.

"I'm sorry Onii-chan." Akira cried out his apology for running away and being mean. Bokuto began to mumble quiet words to his brother, telling him not to worry. It was an odd sight to see, seeing as Bokuto was usually very loud and boisterous.

"I believe we have some people to thank." Bokuto looked over to Konoha, who was looking across the small gap at the group of girls whom his brother just ran from. The group of boys walked up to the girls, ready to thank them for finding their captain's younger brother.

"Ah, now Akira's description makes sense." Arisa said as she waved at the group of boys, having gotten to know them through her brother's team.

"Long time no see." Sango said to Bokuto. He recognized her to be one of the players of the Shiratorizawa girls volleyball team.

"Thank you for helping me find my brother." Bokuto said, bowing down in front of the girls. Rin shook her head, Mirai waving her hands out as if to disagree with his statement.

"It wasn't really us. More so…" Rin said, looking back to where Kagome had run off to. It was then that Komi had realized that one of their players was missing.

"Bokuto-san, Akaashi hasn't come back yet. And he won't answer his phone." Komi told his captain, who began to go on a tangent about losing his favorite setter.

"How do you know Bokuto-san?" Komi asked, confused as to how his volleyball captain managed to gain the attention of a group of girls.

"Oh, I met him when we were at Fukurodani way back. Our team had a practice match with your school." Sango told the boys.

"You must be the Shiratorizawa team that we've heard about from Karasuno then." Rin, Mirai, and Sango nodded.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Konoha Akinori, 3rd year." Konoha greeted them.

"Komi Haruki, 3rd year. Yoroshiku."

"I'm Sarukui Yamato, 3rd year."

"Not sure if you've heard, but if you haven't, I'm Sango, 2nd year." Sango introduced herself, recognition flitting across the boys' faces as they heard her name.

"Hyuuga Mirai, 3rd year." Mirai gave a small wave.

"Taisho Rin, 2nd year." Rin said, nodding in their direction.

"Who was the fourth girl with you guys? The one that was holding Akira." Konoha asked. Rin and Mirai looked over at Sango, who gave the boys a small look.

"She's the one who found your brother, Bokuto-san." Sango told the Fukurodani captain.

"Where did she go? Did she run away? Was I too scary looking?" Bokuto asked, looking at his teammates for an answer. Sango sweatdropped as Bokuto's friends assured the man that he didn't do anything.

"She had some business to take care of, but don't worry. She'll be back before the fireworks start." Sango told the boys.

"That okay with you captain? We'll go find a spot to watch the fireworks, and when she comes, you can thank her yourself." Komi told Bokuto, who nodded before walking ahead with his younger brother on his shoulders.

"Why won't Akaashi answer his phone?" Sarukui grumbled as another call lead to voicemail. The rest of the boys followed after Bokuto, with the girls trailing behind.

"Are you missing someone?" Sango asked. Sarukui nodded, explaining how they had split up to help find Bokuto's younger brother. The group had found an empty patch on the field and took their seats, waiting for the fireworks to come when they heard someone calling Arisa's name.

"Nee-san!" Arisa turned around to see Lev running up to her, followed by the rest of the Nekoma team.

"Lyovochka! Did you like the festival?" Arisa asked Lev once the boy had gotten close enough to hear her.

"Yes. There were so many games and snacks to eat. Yaku-san got mad at me after I went to play another game, telling me that we had to go find seats to see the fireworks." Lev said, still wary of the short liber that was giving him a look.

"Ah, it's you!" Kuroo yelled, his eyes falling onto Sango, who also shot up from her seat.

"Why are you everywhere I go in Tokyo?" Sango bit out. The two got close to each other and began to snipe at one another before they had to be pulled back by their teammates.

"Sumimasen. She didn't mean it." Mirai said, giving Sango a look. Meanwhile, Yaku was also apologizing for Kuroo's appalling behavior.

"What are you doing here Bo? And why are you with her?" Kuroo asked Bokuto, who was currently attending to his younger brother.

"Ah, they found Akira for me. " Bokuto told Kuroo. Kuroo sighed, dropping to the ground next to Bokuto.

"Kenma, did you end up getting that candy apple you wanted?" Kuroo asked, turning to his side to see an empty spot. Looking behind him, he noticed that his teammates were now conversing with the Fukurodani team and the girls from Shiratorizawa, but there was no Kenma.

"Kenma?" Kuroo called out again, hoping that his childhood friend was somewhere nearby and just out of sight.

**ooo**

Pushing a branch away, Kagome stepped out of the woods panting. The moment Akira had gone running towards Bokuto, Kagome ran. Her heart felt like it was caving in on itself, and she didn't want to be around anyone at the moment.

"I must have shocked Rin and Mirai." Kagome huffed out as she looked ahead at the clearing. Walking towards the river, Kagome looked down at her reflection in the shallow bank. From her hair down to her dress, she looked just like her mother did.

"I wonder if she was at peace when she left." Kagome mumbled, watching the fish in the water swim down the stream with its brethren.

"If you plan on jumping, I suggest you don't do it." It was quiet, but the fact that someone managed to sneak up on her shocked Kagome. Spinning suddenly, she lost her balance on the loose dirt on the ground. Feeling herself tip backwards, Kagome clenched her eyes together and waited for her back to hit the water. Only it didn't. Cracking her eyes open, she looked up to see a pair of gold eyes peering down at her. The boy over her had two-toned hair, bleached tips framing his face, making it as if his eyes were glowing. It was then that she recognized the boy to be one of the volleyball players she met when she was at Fukurodani.

"Thank you." Kagome said, patting her kimono down once the boy had pulled her away from the river and onto her feet.

"No worries." The boy mumbled before pulling out his phone. It was then that Kagome got a good look at the boy. He was decked in a black kimono with a red obi tied at his waist.

"You're the setter from Nekoma, aren't you? What's your name?" Kagome asked the boy. The boy nodded back, looking up from his phone briefly.

"Kozume Kenma. And you must be Shirabu Kagome." Kagome raised an eyebrow at the boy.

"Kuroo rants about you a lot." Kenma replied, his direction back on his phone.

"Anyways, I owe you one." Kagome said, tipping her head in the direction of the river before pulling out her phone. She extended her phone in Kenma's direction, grabbing his attention.

"Like I said, it's fine." Kenma said in an exasperated tone.

"I've had enough karma for one lifetime. So let me repay the favor." Kagome said, looking Kenma in the eyes. Kenma stared back at her as if he was peering through her eyes into her soul. He reached out a hand and grabbed her unlocked phone after a few moments. Putting in his contact details, he sent himself a message before handing the phone back to her.

"What kind of excuse would you like me to give Kuroo now, Kenma?" The two turned to see Akaashi waiting at the forest line, his phone in hand. The boy was decked in a white kimono with a dark blue obi tied around his waist.

"Nothing happened Akaashi." Kenma huffed, pulling his game up again and began to play. Giving his friend a small smile, Akaashi turned to Kagome, who was staring back at him.

"Shirabu-san, right? Oh, I apologize. You're a third year, so it would be Shirabu-senpai." Akaashi asked, stepping towards the two. Kagome nodded.

"We should head back to the fireworks field. It seems that our teams have found a place to sit together." Kenma nodded and started to walk, followed by Kagome and Akaashi. Once the three had made their way through the woods and were walking on the field, Kagome saw her friends up ahead with a bunch of males goofing off around her.

"Kenma-san, I was so worried you got lost." Lev bounded up to Kenma, looping his arm around the setter's arm and began to drag the boy back to where his teammates were hanging out. Kagome stared at her friends having fun with each other, not worrying about anything else. They didn't seem to be worrying about their future, about the Spring Tournament, about the upcoming term.

"Ignorance is truly a bliss. I envy them." Kagome whispered in the air. Unknowing to her, Akaashi had heard her.

"Is it really?" Akaashi spoke out, gaining Kagome's attention as she saw the boy step up to her side. She gave Akaashi a questioning look, to which he continued.

"Would one truly be happy about being ignorant?" Akaashi asked, looking Kagome in the eye.

"It's better than knowing everything, is it not?" Kagome shrugged her shoulders slightly.

"Knowledge is power, a responsibility. It's a gift that not everyone has the chance to receive." Akaashi told her.

"Don't tell me something I already know." Kagome said, sighing deeply.

"You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today." Akaashi told Kagome. She chuckled lightly, looking over at her friends before turning back to Akaashi.

"Responsibility, huh. You, of all people, can't tell me that." Akaashi was slightly taken back by the sad smile that Kagome gave him. A loud sound echoed throughout the night, signaling the end of their conversation and the beginning of the fireworks.

**ooo**

The Spring Tournament First Preliminaries had come and gone rather quickly, with Shiratorizawa landing a spot in the second round. The new term had begun and the 3rd years had been very busy. The idea of college entrance exams was just around the corner and their classes were increasing in rigor. Luckily, Shiratorizawa's annual cultural festival was coming up, giving the 3rd years a break from their studies. However, it also brought about the intense debate of what idea each class would be doing for the day.

"Listen up. We're going to get this done with so we can start with the preparations. So if you have anything to say, say it now." The class president said. No one said a word, waiting for her to continue with the process.

"As you know, we chose the idea of a dating cafe before we went for summer vacation. We will have 7 girls and 7 boys rotating dates. Each date will be 15 minutes long, and the rest of the guests will be served in the cafe." The vice president said, listing out the term that the class had agreed to.

"Once the dates have been nominated, they will pick from a hat to determine their character for the day. You can either nominate yourself or another person, and we will vote in the end. So with that, let's begin." The president said.

"Who will be our dates?" As if on cue, a bunch of girls and boys raised their hands and they started listing out names. As this was occurring, Kagome felt a tap on her shoulder and she looked back.

"You're not going to do it?" Tendo asked her, as some of the boys in their class began to nominate girls.

"Are you?" Kagome replied back. Tendo shook his head.

"Kenjiro would kill me. And I'd rather not have him angry with me." Tendo told Kagome.

"Well, it's a good thing you can nominate someone else, isn't it."

"I'd like to nominate Satori as a date." Laughter went through the air as the vice president added Tendo to the board.

"Imagine what will happen if Shirabu-san catches him on a date with a girl… jealousy!" Kagome heard one of the girls tell her friend.

"That's mean, Kagome." Tendo grumbled, already wary about Shirabu hearing of the news.

"Tell that to my shrimp rice that you ate yesterday." Kagome said, giving Tendo a glare in the corner of her eye.

"Well, two can play this game." Kagome didn't have enough time to slap her hand over Tendo's mouth as the boy stood up with his hand raised.

"I'd like to nominate Kagome-chan!"

"I second that nomination." Kagome turned to see Mirai grinning broadly at her from the doorway as the girl walked into the class. She gave an envelope to the president and whispered something to her before walking out the door. Meanwhile, whispers went around the room. It was a known thing that Kagome was considered one of the school beauties. Having top marks and impressive athletic abilities made her one of the sought out females in the school.

"I'm going to kill you and bury you where no one will find your pitiful body." Kagome said under her breath so that only Tendo could hear her. Once the list had been compiled, all the students were told to close their eyes and the voting process began. When the voting had ended, the vice president began to call out the names the dates, and of course, Kagome's had was called.

"Now, we have compiled a list of different characters that you get to choose from. Please pick out one slip." The president told the dates as the vice president gave the bowl of paper slips to the front desk to be passed around. One by one, the chosen students picked out of the bowl and there were sounds of excitement and disappointment as their characters were chosen.

"Volleyball player. Well, I can pull that off." Tendo relaxed in his seat and Kagome stood up, walking to the front to the bowl of slips. Kagome reached her hand into the bowl and pulled out one slip, hoping she had gotten something simple like Tendo.

"What'd you get?" One of the girls in her class asked. Kagome unfolded the paper, groaning internally as she read the character aloud.

"Demon queen." It was odd. Everyone else had a rather normal character such as a model or knight. Kagome could hear some of the girls that hadn't been nominated getting ideas for her costume and sighed, giving up on having a say when her eye caught one of the papers in the bowl. She pulled it out to see that it also read demon queen. Looking at the other white sips, she noticed that they all looked identical. Looking up, Kagome looked into the eyes of her class president who was waiting for her to sit down.

"Kaicho, I think something is wrong. All of these slips have the same thing on it." Kagome told the president, who grabbed the bowl and looked through it.

"I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about. These all have different things on it." The president said, pulling out a colored slip and showing her the character.

"But…" The protest died on Kagome's when she saw the smile on her class president's face and the pieces clicked together. Once the class had ended, the students were dismissed for lunch. In the end, only Kagome and Tendo were in the room. The rest of the class had quickly rushed out of the room having felt Kagome's anger pulsing.

"You have three seconds to explain." Kagome said, staring Tendo down. She was standing in front of Tendo while the boy was kneeling on the ground in a dogeza.

"Sango cornered me after lunch yesterday." Tendo gave, and that was all Kagome needed.

"Don't think you've escaped." Kagome said, letting Tendo off the ground before walking out of the room with Tendo right behind her. The two volleyball teams had the habit of eating together out in the gardens, but due to the cold weather, they most likely were in the cafeteria. Spotting Sango with the others, she crept up behind the girl.

"Sango~" Said girl flinched, a cold shiver going up her spine as she turned around to see Kagome glaring her down.

"Do explain why you roped Mirai and Tendo into this." Kagome told the girl, who was currently shaking from fear. Mirai was already laughing her head off as Kagome tore into Sango.

"You too?" Kagome turned to Reon, who had finished his lunch and was watching the little show in front of him.

"Our class is doing a haunted house theme. Guess what Wakatoshi has been chosen to act as." Reon told Kagome, once she had slipped into a seat across from him.

"You have got to be kidding me."

**ooo**

The month of preparations had gone by, highlighting the pain that Kagome had to go through with wardrobe fittings, and the school was ready for the Cultural Festival. Students were finishing their last minute details on their classes, making sure everything was ready to go. Those who had to wear costumes and different outfits were all changing while the student council were at the front of the school ready to welcome their guests.

"There you go. You're done." Kagome opened her eyes and looked at herself in the mirror. Some of the 3rd year girls in her class had taken it upon themselves to do her hair and makeup. She got off the seat that they had her sitting in for the last thirty minutes and headed over to the mirror. Looking closely in the mirror, she saw a pair of teal cat-slit eyes looking back at her. The girls had added eyeliner and lipstick to highlight her prominent features. Her hair had been pulled into a high ponytail with a gold crown circling the base of it. Three small horns were poking out of the stray hairs that framed her face. Kagome turned her head slightly to see long elfin ears poking out of her hair.

"Just be careful with the ears. They are being rather temperamental." Kagome nodded before looking over the rest of her outfit. She was wearing a blood red tube top with a black one-sleeved kimono that was partially off shoulder. On the bare arm, there was a gold arm band that had been fastened to her upper arm and a large white beaded necklace around her neck. A white skirt was clipped over the kimono at her waist, with a gold belt holding it all in place. Under the skirt, the black kimono flowed down, ending at her knees.

"Go ahead to the class. They're waiting for you." The girl who did her hair smiled, pushing Kagome out of the changing room. Nodding, Kagome pushed her hair over her shoulder and went to walk to her class when the changing room door next to her opened and out stepped Ushijima.

"I see they got to you too." Kagome said, gesturing to their coordinating outfits.

"Females are not to be underestimated." Ushijima said, looking over Kagome before nodding in acceptance.

"Shall we go? It's about to start." Ushijima nodded and the two began to walk to their classes. As they walked by, whispers spread as students and staff alike turned to stare at the two. Kagome heard the clicks of her heels on the floor and the whispers about her and Ushijima.

"Look at them!"

"Ushijima-kun is so hot!"

"Shirabu-senpai looks so pretty."

"They look like the perfect couple." By the time Kagome and Ushijima had made it to their hallway, the rumors had spread up to their floor and their fellow third years came out to see their top students.

"You look gorgeous!" An arm slipped around her waist as Sango appeared in her view.

"Aren't you supposed to be with your class?" Kagome asked the girl.

"Hai. But I had to come get pictures for our photo collection. So stand together." Sango said, having moved the two to a large black curtain that had been put up for picture purposes. Kagome and Ushijima stood where they were and stared back at Sango who was holding the camera. Some of their fellow classmates sweat-dropped at the pair.

"Um, not like that you guys. More like your characters should act." Sango told them. The two tilted their heads in confusion, causing some of their classmates to laugh out.

"Okay. That didn't work." Sango puffed her cheeks out. She tried explaining it to them in another way, but Kagome and Ushijima still didn't understand.

"Act as if you're in love with each other. Like that dazed look." One of their classmates yelled to them. Kagome and Ushijima both gave each other a look, knowing that this would be rather awkward to do.

"And this is really because…" Kagome asked. Sango put her hands together and pleaded for the two to do the pose.

"Ok, so maybe I need this for a portfolio for art. Please Kagome?" Kagome sighed. Looking up at Ushijima, he nodded briefly.

"Ushijima, wrap your arm around Kagome's waist. And then Kagome, grab Ushijima's forearm. Not that one, the other one. Yes, and then raise your hand to caress his cheek." Sango was giving instructions, Kagome and Ushijima were adjusting until they had completed the pose.

"Is this it?" Kagome asked. Sango nodded before grabbing her camera and turning it on.

"Now, like Nakamura-senpai said, you need to look at each other like you love each other." Kagome and Ushijima gave each other a look. Ushijima nodded to her and she gave him a small smile before telling Sango they were good to go.

"That looks so realistic." Sango heard one of her senpais say, and she had to admit that they were telling the truth. Clicking a bunch of pictures, Sango was surprised that the two actually managed to pull it off. Ushijima's eyes were partially lidded looking down at Kagome in an adoring gaze while Kagome was looking up at Ushijima with a dazed look, her lips barely parted. Once given the ok, Kagome and Ushijima let go of each other, and Kagome waved bye to Ushijima as he headed to his class.

"If that picture finds itself anywhere it shouldn't be, expect to find yourself in a grave seven feet under. Capishe?" Kagome threatened Sango, who saluted to Kagome before rushing off to her class.

"How could you take a picture with Wakatoshi and not with me Kagome-chan." Kagome ignored Tendo's whining as he pulled her into their classroom.

"The guests are arriving. Everyone, take your positions."

**ooo**

"I'm tired." Tendo said, flopping onto the couch, very much aware that his boyfriend was already reclining on it.

"Heavy…" Shirabu complained, but said nothing else as Tendo laid his head on his lap. The Cultural Festival was finally over, and the two had taken to resting for a while.

"Where's Kagome-chan?" Tendo asked, noticing the absence of the older twin. Shirabu told him that she had been exhausted after catering to guests all day and was taking a nap.

"Who are we playing first?" Shirabu asked, referring to the Miyagi Prefecture Playoffs that were just around the corner.

"Araigawa High." Tendo told him as Shirabu weaved his fingers in his hair.

"Coach asked another college team to come for the following week to practice with us." Shirabu continued to tell Tendo about their upcoming training, causing a tick mark to grow on the older boy's forehead.

"Stop talking about training, honestly." Tendo said, trying to guilt trap Shirabu into paying more attention to him.

"Hai hai." Shirabu smiled down at his boyfriend, kissing the 3rd year on the forehead before asking how his day went. The two began to chat, smiles and laughter brightening the mood around them as they settled into a comfortable position. Kagome watched from the edge of the hallway, the shadows keeping her mostly out of sight.

"How was I supposed to let you do this?" Kagome whispered under her breath. She didn't want to get married to someone she didn't know. She needed air. Grabbing a sweatshirt from her room, she padded down the hallway to the door and began to put on her shoes.

"Kenjiro, I'm going out for a run. If I'm not back by dinner, eat without me." Kagome said, waving to her brother and Tendo before slipping out the apartment door. Once she was out of hearing range, she pulled out her phone and called Arisa. As the phone was dialing her number, Kagome was hit with a rush of memories from when she first met the older girl. It had been years ago, back when she was in her last year of elementary school. Her mother had taken her to a dancing class, and Kagome had slipped out of the meeting room to one of the practice rooms when she met the older girl dancing in front of the mirror.

_"Nice to meet you. I'm Haiba Arisa, desu." Arisa said, holding out a hand. Kagome reached out, grabbing Arisa's hand and introduced herself._

_"I'm Shirabu Kagome. Nice to meet you." Kagome gave the elder girl a bright smile. Arisa stared at Kagome for a little while, making Kagome seem as if there was something on her when Arisa sprung forwards and pulled her into a hug._

_"You look so adorable. We're going to be best friends, isn't that right Milaya?" Kagome was confused to who Milaya was._

_"Did you just call me Milaya? That's not my name." Kagome told Arisa._

_"It's my nickname for you, Milaya~" Arisa said, giggling as she pulled Kagome by the hand and twirled the girl around._

"Milaya, what a surprise. I didn't expect you to call. What's up?" Arisa's peppy voice rang in her ear.

"Ne Arisa, mind if I can ask you something?" Kagome asked.

"Of course."

"You can't say anything. Not to anyone, please." Arisa could hear the desperation in Kagome's voice and agreed to keep it a secret.

"My late parents signed a contract for an engagement for the heir of the family. I have no interest in taking over the family business, but my brother does. However, if he does, he will have to break up with his boyfriend. And if I tell him, he will sign the document to officialize his place as the heir so that I don't have to end up in a loveless marriage." Kagome started to rant to the older girl.

"This is driving me crazy. If I don't give my grandmother an answer soon, she'll call my brother down to tell him." Kagome didn't realize it, but she had been walking aimlessly down the road, unaware of where she was going.

"Milaya, calm down. Everything will be ok. First, do you know who this person is?" Arisa asked Kagome, referring to the person either of them would be engaged to.

"Not yet. I won't figure out until one of us signs the official documents." Kagome told the girl.

"Ok. Is there anyway out of the contract? Loopholes?" Kagome replied with a no, explaining how her grandmother had looked into that when she had first discovered the contract. The two talked for some time about the situation before Arisa spoke out.

"Well, it seems like you've made up your mind, hasn't it. In fact, you probably already signed the papers, didn't you" Kagome finally came to stop. Noticing she was standing in front of a small store, she sat down on the steps in the front and curled her knees towards her chest.

"Tell me I'm wrong. That I should get rid of that signature." Kagome begged.

"Milaya you and I both know that nothing I saw will change your mind. What I will tell you is that I'm proud of you, of your decision, and I will stand by you the whole way through." Arisa's voice pierced the quiet air.

"I'll tell him when I get back home." Kagome told Arisa.

"Good luck Milaya."

"Thank you, Arisa" Kagome ended the call and sighed, looking up at the darkening sky. Getting to her feet, she walked up the steps to the store and opened the door. Heading to the drinks section, she grabbed a sports drink and an energy bar before heading to the front counter. She set the items down on the counter and looked up to see Karasuno's Coach staring back at her.

"Am I near Karasuno High School?" Kagome asked the male as he rang up her items.

"Yes. Are you lost?" Coach Ukai replied as he took her payment, confused to why a student from Shiratorizawa was here at this time.

"Not really. Thank you." Kagome dipped her head as she grabbed the drink and the energy bar, slipping the bar into her pocket before heading towards the door when she heard a familiar voice coming from the entrance.

"Coach! We finally did it." Coach Ukai slammed his head down on the counter, complaining about brats coming in and ruining his peaceful time as Hinata came racing around the corner.

"Ah. Shiratorizawa's setter. What are you doing here?" Kagome looked down at the shorter boy.

"If I told you, then I'd have to kill you. I have a feeling your coach would approve." Kagome told the boy, side-stepping around him as she headed out the door, passing by a panting Kageyama. She had barely made it down the steps when Hinata slammed the store doors open again and stared down at her from where he stood.

"It was you!" Kagome tilted her head in confusion.

"From the locker room. You're the one that ambushed me." Kagome's eyes slightly widened as she remembered what had happened as a result of their truth or dare game.

"Huh? What are you talking about Hinata?" Kageyama asked, standing behind his teammate.

"You have no proof that it was me, now do you?" Kagome told the boy. Noticing that he couldn't come up with anything to say back, she waved her hand and began to head back the way she came.

**ooo**

It had been quite a long walk by the time she made it back to her apartment. Unlocking the door, she stepped inside and and shut the door behind her. Once she had taken her shoes off and set the partially empty sports drink on the kitchen counter, she went in search of her brother.

"You two decent in there?" Kagome asked, knocking on her brother's bedroom door. Hearing a faint 'ok' come from the room, she opened the door to see her brother and Tendo lying in bed together. Closing the door behind her, she went up to the bed and sat at the foot of it.

"Have a nice run?" Tendo asked and Kagome nodded. It was taking her a little while to process how she wanted to tell her brother.

"Are you okay?" Shirabu asked his sister, getting to his knees and moving closer to his sister. He put a hand on her forehead to check her temperature, but she grabbed his hand and moved it back down.

"I'm not sure how to tell you. So I'll put it bluntly." Kagome said, and Shirabu nodded, ready to hear what she had to say.

"I'll take over the company. You can choose what you want to do with your future, now that it's not tied down." Kagome told her brother. Shirabu was shocked. He hadn't been expecting this.

"You said you didn't want to take it over. Why are you changing your mind now?" Shirabu asked Kagome.

"I had a change of heart. Grandmother showed me what the company was like and I decided to uphold my duty as the eldest." Kagome said.

"I don't think it matters if either one of us takes over the company. So I'll do it instead. I know you don't like it, and you know I have an interest in business." Shirabu said, taking his sister's hands in his.

"No. I'll be the one to take over. I'm sorry Kenjiro. I know how much it means to you. But now, I'm giving you the chance to do something that you will actually like and not have forced on to you because I said no before." Kaogme said, pulling her hands from his.

"If you knew how much it meant to me, then you wouldn't change your mind all of a sudden. I'll call Obaa-sama and tell her that I'll take over." Shirabu retorted, getting slightly annoyed with his sister. Why did she have to change her mind now? Ever since the accident, she showed no interest in the company at all. While she hadn't officially declared it to anyone, he knew that he would have to take over and had begun to delve into the matters their family company dealt with.

"Leave it Kenjiro." Kagome got off the bed and made for the door. Shirabu felt as if his world was slowly falling back apart. The one thing that kept him going besides his sister and his friends was the company that their parents left behind for them. It was the last tether he had with them. He put his effort into helping his uncle with some of the smaller affairs when possible and all of a sudden, his sister decides to take back what she declined.

"Kagome, you can't just do that. This is a matter that we have to talk about together." Shirabu bit out, standing to his feet and raced after his sister, grabbing her arm to stop her.

"I'm sorry Kenjiro. I really am, but this is something I have to do."

"That's not something that you can just decide Kagome. This is ridiculous. Why do you have to take something you've already rejected. Look at me when I'm talking." Shirabu said, spinning his sister around.

"I know you don't like the decision I made, but keep in mind that I am the older one here _otouto. _Keep that in mind. This decision is final. The papers have been signed." The tension froze over as Kagome called Shirabu out. The mood was plummeting in the room, and Tendo didn't know how to stop their fight. It wasn't the first time the twins had fought over something, but usually their arguments were over petty things.

"Look at you pulling that card. You have no right to do that at all. Okaa-sama and Otou-sama didn't even raise me, they just shipped me over to Oba-sama and Oji-sama's. I didn't even know you existed until you started attending Kitagawa Daichi and I was called back to the main house." All the pent up frustrations over the past couple years were unravelling at the worst time possible. While Kagome didn't want to hash everything out at the moment, it seemed that her brother was letting out all his frustrations about her at the same time.

"You can't even consider us siblings, let alone twins. " Kagome's eyes widened as Shirabu yelled out the last part of his pent up anger. Growing up, Kagome always thought she was an only child. The manor was always empty and there were no kids her age until her parents came home one day and introduced Shirabu to her as her younger twin. And she hadn't questioned it, but it seemed like all along, he had.

"I'll go stay with Mirai for the time being." Kagome's voice cut through the air as she left Shirabu's room and closed the door. Shirabu didn't stop her. After staring at his closed door for some time, he headed back to his bed and crawled under the covers. Tendo couldn't say anything to console his boyfriend. He sat in the silence for a little while before Shirabu peeked his head out of the covers and looked up at Tendo.

"Satori, I don't mean to be mean, but would you mind leaving me alone? I need some time to think." Shirabu told his boyfriend. Tendo replied with a yes, brushing his lips against Shirabu's forehead before leaving the room, shutting the door behind him. He walked towards the front door, grabbing his bag along the way to see Kagome at the door putting her shoes on. She had her school bag in one hand and another small bag slung over her shoulders. In her other hand were her uniform shoes.

"Gomen Satori. I didn't mean for you to see that." Kagome said once both of them had stepped out of the apartment and were walking back to their school.

"It's fine Kagome-chan." Tendo replied, patting Kagome on the head, laughing as she swatted his hand away. He noticed that the younger girl was feeling down about the whole confrontation that had just happened. It looked like a lot of repressed emotions came to light and it didn't look like she could handle it.

"You really love my brother, don't you?" Kagome asked, surprising Tendo with the question. They really had never had a talk about him dating her younger brother. Both him and Kagome, being in the same year together, meant that they spent more time together than he would have normally. Somehow along the line, they found a mutual respect for each other, hence the conversation had never come up when they told her about their relationship.

"I'm not going to say that he's my soulmate, or my other half. But he's what makes me happy. And for me, that's good enough." Tendo saw the small smile grow on Kagome's face as the younger girl turned to him.

"Keep it that way." The two walked in silence for the rest of the trip to the dorms.

**ooo**

It wasn't long before the two teams realized that the twins weren't talking to each other. If one entered the room, the other excused themselves and left. Some of the 3rd years on the team were ready to approach Shirabu about the situation but were stopped by Tendo. The tense atmosphere soon faded into an awkward tension as both siblings didn't know how to confront the other. It wasn't until the Miyaji Prefecture Playoffs started that the anxiety of approaching one another blew up.

It was the second day of the competitions, and the girls' team had won both their matches. Given the rest of the afternoon off to watch the other matches, Kagome and her friends headed over to see Aoba Josai's match with Karasuno. The results of the match did shock Kagome. It was only a couple months before that she had seen Karasuno's quick duo perform their ultimate move and she had been able to receive it.

"Karasuno wins, 2:1. Players shake hands." Kagome stood up and began to clap along with the rest of the crowd. Looking down, she noticed that some of the players had started crying.

"Arigato gozaimashita!" Oikawa said bowing down, followed by the rest of the Aoba Josai team. Once they had their after match talk with their coach, the boys left the gym one by one.

"Go back without me. I'll be back for our practice later on." Kagome told them before running up the stairs and out of the stands. She ran down the hall towards the boy's locker room just in time to see the younger boys coming out, only the 3rd years remaining in the locker room.

"Kagome-senpai!" Kindaichi bowed to his senpai as the rest of the team turned their attention to her.

"You guys did well." With Kagome's words, it looked like the boys were about to burst into tears again, but she continued on.

"Kindaichi, don't bend your knees too much when you go to spike a straight. It will make it harder to go up, and even harder to hit a cross." Kindaichi blushed at Kagome's advice and thanked the girl as she turned to Kunimi.

"Make sure that you spread out your energy use more evenly throughout the first set. It'll help you gain endurance to play harder during the second." Kunimi nodded. One by one, Kagome began giving advice to the members that played in the game.

"Kyoutani, don't act so rash all the time." Kyoutani looked as if he were about to start a fight with Kagome when she put a hand up to stop him.

"You want to win don't you? Then harness that energy of yours and convert it into a play that no one can block. Isn't that what you're gonna do, future ace?" Kyoutani seemed a little taken back that she knew Iwaizumi had passed the title on to him, but to the rest of the members, It wasn't a surprise that she knew who was going to be the next ace and captain.

"Yahaba, you'll be a good setter. Much better than Tooru personality-wise for sure. Keep in mind that you don't need to be another Tooru. Make Aoba Josai proud, ne?" Yahaba nodded, thanking Kagome for all the advice she had given to him over the past couple months. The other members bowed in return, thanking Kagome for all the training and advice they had received over the summer when she stopped by to practice with them.

"Are they still in there?" Yahaba nodded. Letting the boys go ahead to their usual restaurant, she headed into the locker room to see her childhood friends dressed in their jumpsuits and sitting on the benches. Hanamaki and Matsukawa gave her small smiles as they walked by her, patting her on the head as they left the locker room.

"I'm proud of you guys." Oikawa looked up to see Kagome standing in front of him. Iwaizumi sent her a grateful look as she looked at him.

"Tsuki-chan… gomen. Looks like we couldn't keep our promise after all." Oikawa told her, tears threatening to fall down his face.

"Baka, what are you talking about?" Kagome said, walking up to Oikawa, before lifting his face so that he was looking at her.

"You had fun, didn't you?" Oikawa nodded.

"You did a good job out to there. Even I couldn't do what you guys did out their today." Kagome told him.

"But we lost… we'll never go to Nationals with this team." Oikawa muttered.

"Then you just have to make it to the National team, isn't that right?" Kagome said, and Oikawa looked up at her in confusion.

"Tooru, I won't be able to go past college. I know it, and so do you. You said you couldn't fulfill your promise. In exchange, make it to the National Team." Kagome said, giving her wrist a dry look before looking at him with determination in her eyes.

"I'll take you to Nationals and win there. So you take your spot in the National Team, and we'll be cheering you on the whole way, won't we?" Kagome said looking at Iwaizumi, who nodded in response before slapping Oikawa over the head.

"Come on. We need to catch up with the rest of the team. Otherwise they're going to eat your filling as well." Oikawa squawked as he jumped from the chair and grabbed his volleyball bag. Sliding it over his head, he pulled Kagome into a hug and thanked her before running out the door.

"Thank you Kagome." Iwaizumi said. Kagome nodded, wrapping her arms around the boy as he gave her a hug. He wished her luck in the finals tomorrow before heading out the door after Oikawa.

**ooo**

"This is just like any other game we've played before. There's no going back." Kagome told her teammates as they stood in a circle. The girls finals were about to start and the teams had finished warming up.

"All the stakes on this match. You know the drill."


	5. Chapter 5

**And we're back with another chapter. The last chapter got a little too long, so I had to cut it into two parts. I hope you like the story so far. Hope everyone is staying safe in quarantine. Thanks again to the Fat King Pig for editing.**

**ooo**

_It seemed that none of them were aware just who she could become, the power that she held in her hands. It was for that reason that she set herself a limit, a line that she would never cross. But it seemed that people liked to test her patience more than she liked._

**ooo**

"Kenma, hurry up. We're going to miss it otherwise." Bokuto yelled out to the younger setter as they walked down the hallway. Having received an email from Hinata that they were playing Shiratorizawa in the finals the next day, Kenma had told Kuroo of the news. Unfortunately, that probably was a mistake seeing as Kuroo got Bokuto on the line and decided to go watch the Miyagi Prefecture Finals, meaning that Kenma and Akaashi had to tag along.

"Calm down Bokuto. They're going to be playing five sets, so we won't really miss anything." Akaashi told the elder as they headed up the stairs to the bleachers. The four of them made their way to the last row of the bleachers and took their seats.

"That's my boy!" Bokuto yelled, spotting Hinata flying in the air as he spiked Kageyama's set straight down. The cheering squad for Karasuno went wild as Hinata and Kageyama slapped hands.

"They've gotten better. Especially their receiving." Kuroo commented as the two teams continued to play against each other.

"Doing all those diving punishments worked out in the end." Akaashi said, watching Hinata as the boy went to spike down, only to be blocked by a boy double his height.

"What on earth was that?" Kenma asked, sitting up in his seat as he stared down at the scene below. One by one, Shiratorizawa's number 5 kept blocking all the spikes.

"Kageyama's getting irritated." Akaashi said, giving Kuroo and Kenma a look from the corner of his eyes. Kenma usually didn't have any interest towards the way something was done as long as the end result was possible, but for him to be actually watching this intensely was a surprise. The four of them continued to watch the game as Tsukishima tried to coincide with Shiratorizawa's players to effectively block their spikes when a voice called out to them from behind.

"What are you doing here?" Kuroo turned around and made a face at the newcomer.

"You!" The rest of the group turned around to see Oikawa standing behind them. The third year had a navy coat on and glasses, so he looked very different to the captain they saw on the court.

"More importantly, what are you doing here?" Kuroo asked as Oikawa jumped over the seats and took a seat next to Kuroo.

"I'm hiding from someone. They would never expect me to come sit with you people, hence the reason I'm here. That doesn't explain why two Tokyo teams are here though." Oikawa said, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

"You're the Grand King!" Bokuto finally realized who Oikawa was. Oikawa tilted his head at the name before the recognition hit him.

"Grand King? You must know Chibi-chan." Oikawa said as he looked down at the match that was ongoing.

"I practically raised him." Bokuto said, getting a weird look from Oikawa.

"Look at Shiratorizawa's setter." Kenma said at one point during the game and Akaashi looked over at the player. The two could tell that setter for Shiratorizawa was starting to feel the pressure of the game and set the ball too low for Ushijima.

"It's low." Akaashi said as he sat forwards, watching as Ushijima slammed his hand down and spiked the ball, only for it to rebound off of Tsukishima's hands.

"He… he was waiting for that wasn't he?" Kuroo asked with wide eyes as the crowd went wild. Kenma nodded and Oikawa bit back a curse. He noticed that the blond glasses from Karasuno was playing differently compared to when Aoba Josai played them.

"Don't act as if you don't do this kind of stuff yourself Kuroo." Akaashi bluntly pointed out.

"I've always had pure intentions. I don't go doing sneaky stuff like that." Kuroo retorted, gesturing at Tsukishima. He went to continue was cut off by Akaashi, who saved the rest of the group from a long speech.

"They're tied now." Akaashi said.

"Shiratorizawa doesn't look happy." Bokuto said, grinning as he saw his friends having a team meeting before the third set started.

"Of course they wouldn't. Unlike other teams, Shiratorizawa values individual talents and buildings a team based on that. So, the fact that Megane-kun blocked their spear would be a little annoying." Oikawa replied only to get kicked in the head from behind.

"Answer your phone you idiot!" A boy's voice snapped at Oikawa and the group sitting with Oikawa turned around to see his childhood friends. While Iwaizumi was dressed in normal wear, Kagome was wearing her volleyball uniform and jersey with her volleyball bag slung on her shoulder.

"Iwa-chan that hurts." Oikawa whined as he rubbed the back of his head.

"I didn't think you were going to watch." Oikawa asked as Iwaizumi hopped over the seats and sat one away from Oikawa.

"Don't mind him, Tooru. He's just mad that Oba-san woke him up on his day off." Kagome told Oikawa.

"Iwa-chan, why can't you be more like Tsuki-chan?" Oikawa replied, gaining another slap from the boy.

"You two are such idiots. Just date each other and leave me in peace." Kagome muttered under her breath so neither boy could hear. She sat down in between them, setting her bag on the ground, and turned her gaze to the match below.

"You said that you weren't going to come because it'd piss you off, no matter who won." Iwaizumi finally said.

"No matter which side wins, I'm gonna be able to see the other team's faces when they lose." Oikawa said.

"Are you always this annoying?" Kuroo finally asked Oikawa, causing the boy to snap back at him.

"Stop baiting him Kuroo." Akaashi said.

"I don't have time to sit around feeling sorry for myself. Entrance exams are coming up after all." Oikawa replied.

"It's already that time huh?" Kagome sighed out, slipping her volleyball jacket off and laid it in her lap. With that, their conversation came to halt as they watched the game progress.

"Isn't that Karasuno's 3rd year setter?" Iwaizumi asked as the start of the next set was called out.

"Tobio-chan isn't starting?" Oikawa was a little confused.

"He's been moving around the most in the game, hence his energy level has dropped." Kagome told them.

"This might be a little too much for Refreshing-kun, don't you think?" Oikawa said aloud.

"Oi. That's rude you know." Bokuto told Oikawa, but Akaashi agreed with Oikawa. They were well into the match and to switch the setters all of a sudden could disrupt the flow of the game, for better or for worse.

"That toss was too low." Kagome said aloud, and Kenma had to agree with the girl. It was low. Not only that, but the game felt entirely different now that Sugawara was the setter.

"Huh? Why is he receiving it first?" Bokuto asked, and it was then that they saw Karasuno's libero jump from the center line and perform a set.

"From a libero setting to a synchronized attack with everyone but the libero?" Iwaizumi said aloud with shock as he watched the play below.

"I'm impressed." Kagome was genuinely shocked. Maybe now they had a chance.

"I think we need to rethink some of our strategies before we play against Karasuno next." Kuroo said to Kenma, and the smaller boy nodded.

"The only way you're playing Karasuno is if you beat us, ya know." Bokuto said with a wide grin on his face.

"Are you challenging me Bo?" Kuroo asked.

"We have a month before we have our qualifiers so stop riling each other." Akaashi told them.

"Tsuki-chan, don't you have your own game soon?" Oikawa asked Kagome as they continued to watch Karasuno play Shiratorizawa.

"Mm. You're coming to watch right?" Oikawa and Iwaizumi both nodded.

"Oh, you're in the finals too?" Bokuto asked Kagome, who nodded in return.

"We should go watch them too. Hinata said they wrecked our girls' team when they had a practice match." Bokuto said to Akaashi.

"What happened? Did Tsukishima get hurt?" Kuroo finally asked, drawing the attention back to the game. They watched as the tall blonde left with their manager out the doors and another player was subbed in.

"This isn't going to end well." Kagome said.

"Their moral has gone down." Iwaizumi added on as they watched Shiratorizawa rise up again and gain points at a rapid pace.

"Karasuno needs Megane-kun to win." Oikawa said in a serious tone, causing Kuroo to mumble some choice words under his breath. Kenma was glad they had never played against Aoba Josai at the moment. Having Kuroo in the same room as Oikawa didn't seem to end well.

"Yes!" Bokuto yelled as he stood up from his seat and cheered. Akaashi looked up at his captain in surprise, though he should be used to it. He had been wondering why the older boy was cheering when Karasuno was one point away from losing when he saw Tsukishima running out of the doors back onto the court. Tsukishima was immediately subbed back in and Karasuno began their slow and steady retake.

"What happened to Megane-kun? At the first practice match, I thought he was just a tall guy that was slightly intelligent. I guess it's no surprise that Shiratorizawa took a timeout." Oikawa said, looking down as Shiratorizawa team huddled together near their coach.

"Karasuno really is versatile. I've never seen Megane-kun do a slide hit. Even if he was just a decoy." Iwaizumi said, crossing his arms. The game continued on as the last set kept going. The rallies got longer and both teams were running low on endurance.

"I have to admit though. Kageyama does do good work." Kagome said aloud as she watched her old kouhai performing sets here and there.

"Did you notice it too? Apparently, when Megane-kun came back, he gave them some kind of directions on blocking." Oikawa told his friends as Tsukishima blocks another spike from Shiratorizawa's side.

"He's gotten better. I wonder what made him change." Iwaizumi replied.

"We won't easily abandon a near perfect time difference attack and Shiratorizawa will change their style of strengthening individual strengths. That's why we're called powerhouse schools now." Oikawa said. The players from Nekoma and Fukurodani were listening as Kagome began to talk.

"That's true. Karasuno on the other hand probably doesn't have a style they need to protect. They may have had one when they were a powerhouse school. That's why they don't hesitate to try new things." Kagome told them, pausing before looking down at Kageyama and Hinata.

"Either one of them winning is going to piss me off, so they should both lose." Oikawa said, leaning forward.

"You really are a crappy guy." Bokuto and Kuroo started laughing at the nickname

"Could you stop calling me a 'crappy guy'?" Oikawa replied.

"Pick between that or a 'shitty guy'." Iwaizumi said.

"Well, then I guess I choose 'crappy'!" Oikawa snapped back.

"Stop arguing and pay attention." Kagome told them, jabbing both boys in the sides.

"Their quick has gotten faster. It probably would make it hard for me to receive now." Oikawa gave Kagome a scandalous look.

"You helped them?" Kagome sighed, knowing this was bound to come up.

"Kageyama asked me to watch his quick. And I did, but I also received it for them." Kagome replied.

"Stop flirting with the enemy Tsuki-chan." Oikawa grumbled.

"Huh? Flirting? Tooru, get a grip. Besides, it looks like he's thrown his crown away." Kagome told Oikawa.

"That's not the point." Oikawa pouted, as Iwaizumi turned to her.

"So, does Shirabu know you're here?" Kagome nodded.

"We talked things out a week ago, though it will probably take some time before things go back to usual." Kagome replied. The crowd was silent as Hinata synchronized with the rest of the team and jumped. As he went flying, Kageyama set a toss to him and Hinata spiked it down, ending the match. Bokuto and Kuroo jumped to their feet and began cheering as the match was called.

"Your student isn't that bad." Iwaizumi said.

"He's not my student!" Oikawa grumbled back.

"It seems I won't be able to talk to my brother. Warm up will be starting soon." Kagome said, getting up to her feet. Swinging her jacket on, she picked up her bag and put that over her shoulder.

"Damn it, why doesn't that bastard Ushiwaka look more upset?" Oikawa grumbled as he stood up from his seat, watching Shiratorizawa walk to the base line to bow. Iwaizumi stood up as well, and Kagome sighed. She probably shouldn't tell Oikawa that Ushijima was planning on going to Tokyo as well. The three of them stepped back over the seats into the back aisle, and Oikawa began to usher Iwaizumi towards the exit.

"You really are a crappy guy." Iwaizumi told him. Kagome looked back down just in time to see the Shiratorizawa team greet their audience. She smiled and waved a hand when she saw her brother finally spot her in the crowd. He gave her a nod before turning his attention to his teammates.

"Ja ne. Good luck making it to Nationals." Kuroo bit back as snarl as he recognized the fake smile Kagome put on her face.

"Let me know if you need anything." Kagome told Kenma before she walked off in the direction of Oikawa and Iwaizumi.

"Kenma, what was that?" Kuroo asked his friend, but the setter wasn't keen on talking and pulled out his game console.

"Oi! Kenma? Kenma!" Kuroo began to whine as his childhood friend ignored him.

"I'll be right back." Akaashi said, getting up from his seat.

"Oi Akaashi, where are you going?" Bokuto yelled at his teammate.

"Bathroom."

**ooo**

"Do you two even know where you're going?" Kagome asked, having caught up with Oikawa and Iwaizumi.

"Of course we do Tsuki-chan. Maki and Mattsun are there already." Oikawa replied as they walked down the hallway to the second gymnasium when Kagome's name was called out.

"Go ahead and find seats. I'll see you guys after the game." Kagome said, waving her friends off. Then, Kagome turned around to see Fukurodani's setter, Akaashi, standing in front of her.

"I'm sorry to keep you from going to your game, but you said the last time I had no right to tell you such things. Can I ask for clarification on that?" Akaashi asked the girl.

"Akaashi-san, have you figured out what you're going to do after you graduate?" Kagome asked. Akaashi shook his head, still deciding between two options.

"Let's say you want to become a professional athlete, but your parents want you to go into business. What would you do?" Kagome questioned.

"Business. If it were my parents, I'd want to impress them and want to make them proud." Akaashi replied.

"Even if you despise their choice of career?" Akaashi nodded.

"Why?" Kagome was genuinely confused. The boy in front of her would throw his dreams away in order to please his parents.

"Let's say I go pro and am not scouted or injure myself. What would I do then? I would have to go back to school just to get my degree to go into another career path." Akaashi told Kagome. Kagome could see where he was going with this.

"On the other hand, let's say my parents are in the upper echelons of the business world. It would mean my family has a history in business. If you were the child of such parents, would you really throw away everything your family has built up just for your own personal whim?" Akaashi asked.

"Even if you are forced into something you don't want?" Kagome asked.

"Family is important. They are the people that are always on your side, no matter what. They look out for you. They raised you. I would want to pay them back for all they've done."

**ooo**

"Where are they?" Hanamaki asked, noticing that the Seijou girls' team was in the middle of warming up.

"The champions always come in late." Matsukawa said. The doors to the gymnasium swung open and the crowd roared with excitement as the Shiratorizawa team took the court, following behind their captain as she lead them.

"Always one for theatrics." Iwaizumi grinned as the girls finally huddled around their coach as she gave them a few words of advice before they headed to warm up.

"What's Karasuno doing here?" Oikawa and Iwaizumi looked up to see what Hanamaki had been talking about to see Karasuno's team sitting in the middle of the audience along with the players from Fukurodani and Nekoma.

"Beats me." Oikawa replied and returned his attention to the girls. Once the warmup was called, the teams stood in the middle of the court, one on each side of the net as the announcers began their speech. One by one, they introduced the Seijou's girls' team and their coach before moving on to the Shiratorizawa team.

"Number 1, Captain Shirabu Kagome!" Kagome heard the screams as she jogged up to her coach and manager, clapping their hands before returning to the lineup. Following her, the rest of her teammates were called. When that had finished, the referee called for the captains of both teams to come forward to shake hands and decide who would start with the ball.

"This is just like any other game we've played before. There's no going back." Kagome told her teammates as they stood in a circle. Shiratorizawa was going to be receiving first.

"This is the last tournament for us third years. So, all stakes on this match." Kagome said as the girls their hands in the middle before breaking apart. The starting members headed onto the courts and took their places. With the whistle, Seijou's player served the ball across the net and Shiratorizawa's setter set it towards Kagome.

"Let's start this with a bang, shall we?" Kagome said, running up to where the ball was headed and jumped. The girls on the other team were ready for her to set the ball to another member only for her to spike the ball down onto the ground, gaining Shiratorizawa their first point. The crowd descended into cheers as the marker for Shiratorizawa's team changed from zero to one.

**ooo**

In the audience, the Karasuno team felt a sense of deja vu as they flashed back to when they had their first official match against Oikawa and Aoba Josai. It was then that the team actually realized that they knew nothing about the captain of the Shiratorizawa girls' team, despite their reoccurring run-ins with her.

"Ne, Kageyama-kun, who exactly is Shirabu Kagome?" Daichi asked. Around him, heads turned towards Kageyama, who had been watching Kagome play.

"Kagome-senpai… she, along with Oikawa-san and Iwaizumi-san, are childhood friends. She's a setter like Oikawa but focuses more on speed. Her name came up a lot during my second year. Despite being the captain of the team, she never ended up playing in the Spring Tournament." Kageyama said, thinking about his next words before continuing.

"If I'm correct, I believe this is her first Spring High at Shiratorizawa." Kageyama told his teammates.

"Isn't she a third year though? You're saying she hasn't played in a tournament since her second year of junior high?" Sugawara asked, and Kageyama nodded.

"If she's a setter, how was she able to receive your quick? Even Nishinoya wasn't able to do that at the time." Sugawara told him.

"She played as libero." Kageyama raised an eyebrow. He wasn't expecting Kuroo to know the answer to that.

"I cornered Lev after he was practicing one day. She switched to libero for some time before going back to setter." Kuroo explained.

"Ah! I forgot completely about it after that night. Kageyama, she's the one that ambushed me in the Fukurodani locker room. " All eyes turned to Hinata as he confessed how she had spoken the same words from before causing him to remember.

"Fukurodani too? Did they break into every school or something?" Kuroo grumbled.

"Wait, so she's the one who wrote Akaashi a love letter?" Bokuto asked. Hinata shrugged his shoulders, not really sure whether the letter was real or not. Akaashi pondered on the claim. While Hinata wasn't one to lie, he couldn't imagine Shiratorizawa's captain sneaking into their locker room to deliver a love letter to him, especially after their latest encounter. It wasn't as if the two were on friendly terms.

"That would be impossible. We have only met in passing." Akaashi replied. The topic was dropped momentarily as their attention was turned back to the game. Shiratorizawa had easily taken the first set from Seijou and were in the middle of the second set when a time out was called from Seijou's side. Both teams headed to their coaches, where they were given time to grab a drink of water and get advice from their coach.

"What happened?" Nishinoya was confused. Nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary on the court or with the plays so he, along with his teammates, didn't understand why Seijou had taken the time out when they heard some boys in front of them talking.

"It's her. It's actually her."

"Who?"

"Huh? You don't recognize her?"

"Explain so a social recluse like me can understand please."

"That's Shirabu Kagome. She was hailed as one of the best female setters of the league during junior high, placing high in the overall setter ranking in the country."

"How come no one knows her?"

"She vanished from the courts during her third year at Kitagawa Daichi."

"Ok. So, what's got the other team afraid? If she hasn't played since then, haven't her skills gone down?"

"No, the exact opposite actually. She's the true manipulator of the court. It's fact that you don't know that you're caught in her trap until it's over. Rumor has it that her style gained her a nickname during her time at Kitagawa Daichi. She was known as Kitagawa Daichi's Siren."

"I see they've finally figured it out." Kagome looked ahead to see Sango grinning at her.

"It took them too long. They didn't figure it out during Inter High." Mirai replied.

"It changes nothing." Kagome told them and they nodded. The timeout had ended, and it was Shiratorizawa's turn to serve. Kagome stood on the back line, ball in hand as she stared across the court. She bounced the ball a few times before gripping it in her hands once again.

"Trial one" Kagome tossed the ball and began to run. As the ball came back down, she jumped up and slammed her hand on the ball. The court was silent as the ball touched the ground on the other side before roaring as Shiratorizawa gained a point.

"Was it just me, or did that look like Oikawa's serve?" Daichi pointed out.

"You're not the only one."

**ooo**

"Congrats Tsuki!" Oikawa jumped her once she had left the changing room, giving her a big hug. The rest of the girls had gone ahead to meet up with their coach.

"Thanks Tooru. How did I do?" Kagome asked the four 3rd years. Matsukawa gave her a small smile, ruffling Kagome's hair to which she slapped his hand away.

"You were amazing." Iwaizumi told her while Hanamaki gave her a fist bump.

"I have to go now, but I'll see you guys next weekend." Kagome waved her hand before heading to her bus. She could hear their cheers and laughter from far away as she got closer to the bus.

"Kagome!" Kagome heard Sango shout her name as she boarded the bus. Giving Sango a small smile, she headed to the back of the bus where Sango was sitting with Rin and Mirai.

"We did it. We're going to Nationals!" Sango cheered, inciting cheers from the other girls as they all began to talk about their game and the upcoming tournament.

"Ladies, I hate to cut into your excitement. Give me a few minutes." The Coach said, grabbing out a clipboard.

"You girls played very well today. I was impressed. However, there is a lot we still need to work on. Passes need to be cleaner and there needs to be more power behind your spikes. Play as if you are playing in the male league. Shiratorizawa has no needs for those without strength unless you can back up your skill in another way. Tomorrow, we will start training for Nationals. We have 2 months to perfect everything before we head to Tokyo." The Coach told her players as she flipped through her clipboard of notes from their game.

"That being said, I was contacted by Nekoma and Fukurodani. They are looking to have us join their training camp in a few weeks." Confusion spread throughout the team.

"Um, Coach, I hate to brag like this, but we thrashed Nekoma and Fukurodani when we had a practice match during summer." One of the second years stated.

"Oh, I know that. They, however, will not be the ones you will be playing against." Another player made a comment, but quickly muffled her voice so their coach wouldn't hear the complaint.

"You will be playing against the boy's teams. So be ready for practice."

"Why did they approach you Coach? It's odd that a boys' team would want to practice with a girls' team." Mirai asked.

"Indeed. I had the same question. Apparently, there has been some rule-breaking while we have been out of town. Expect due punishment when we get there." And with that remark, the bus exploded with noise. Most of the girls were still partying about their success in the Miyagi Prefecture Playoffs while some were praying for their captain and vice-captain's survival.

"How did she figure it out?" Mirai wondered. Kagome sighed, feeling another headache coming in the future. As usual, dealing with Sango always had its consequences. She wondered if this is how Iwaizumi felt about Oikawa all the time.

"They must have ratted us out. That stupid captain of theirs." Sango said, puffing out her cheeks at the thought of Kuroo (is there supposed to be a comma here)and Rin snorted.

"No, you don't. You like their captain." Rin leered back, causing a fight to breakout between the two. Kagome, having no energy to deal with them, slid closer to Mirai and the two began to chat quietly about the following spring.

"What did your counselor say for your career meeting?" Mirai asked Kagome.

"She told me that I could go into medicine or law if I chose since my grades are top notch. But it's been decided that I'll be taking over the company instead." Kagome told Mirai.

"What? I thought you wanted to go with medicine before. What happened?" Mirai pondered, confused as to why Kagome switched her career choice.

"I don't want to force my brother to take over just because I'm stepping down. If anything, I feel like I am desecrating my parent's final wishes by not accepting heirship." Kagome replied, telling Mirai not to tell anyone about her choice.

"What about you?"

"I know that anything relating to math or science isn't a good idea. I'm not very good with those concepts. As you know, I've been dabbling in fashion designing a lot and brought that up. My counselor suggested going into art or design." Mirai explained how her meeting had went.

"I can see that. It would suit you." Mirai grinned, her cheeks turning pink as she began to show Kagome some of her newer designs she had done on her phone.

"What university are you going to go to? Have you decided?" Kagome asked Mirai. Mirai shook her head.

"I'm stuck between Tohoku and Kyoto. They both have really good design departments. Or I can always go to a design-centered university." Mirai replied.

"Both universities will be lucky to have you as a student." Kagome told Mirai.

"Speak for yourself, Kagome. Aren't you the one that got an offer from an American university?"

**ooo**

Kagome just wanted to die on the spot. She already regretted having her permission slips signed and turned in. The last 3 weeks were spent in agony as she pushed her body to the limits during practice. Every day, many of the girls would drop to the ground with exhaustion, some sporting bruises from playing.

"Come on, it's not that bad." Their libero said, poking Kagome in the side as Kagome looked up at Nekoma's campus with a look of disdain.

"It is. I think I'm going to die here." Kagome replied, letting out a sigh. Sango walked up from behind, patting Kagome on the arm with sympathy as their team headed towards the school's gymnasium. The Tokyo teams had just had their playoffs with both Nekoma and Fukurodani claiming spots in Nationals.

"As long as they don't come near us, I'm good." Sango replied.

"We're going to be playing them. So, unless you have a disease of being near them, I think you're gonna have to compromise. Besides, Coach still hasn't said what the punishment is going to be." Mirai told Sango. The girls entered the gym to see the boys' teams on the floor with their coaches. Hearing their entrance, the boys turned and watched as the girls made their way towards them.

"Thank you for inviting us to your training camp. And congratulations for both teams making it to Nationals." Shiratorizawa's coach said, shaking hands with Nekoma's and Fukurodani's coaches.

"We're delighted to have you. Congratulations on being Miyagi's Representative." Nekoma's coach, Coach Nekomata, told the girls where the changing rooms were, and the team headed to get ready for practice.

"Remember to take cold showers for tonight." Kagome told the girls as they began to change into their practice outfits, slipping their jackets on top.

"Huh? Why?" One of their first years asked.

"No doubt we'll be getting bruises today from playing them. Hot water is bad for bruises on the first day, so make sure to ice as well." Sango told her kouhais. The girls started to head back to the gym, leaving Sango and Kagome in the changing room. Sango finished tying her shoes before checking to make sure that their teammates took what they needed before heading with Kagome out of the changing room.

"Has the doctor said anything about the wrist?" Sango asked. Kagome shook her head. It had been a while since her last visit, and she was due for another one before Nationals started.

"Let's hope Coach goes easy on the punishment. And don't think of even daring to escape." Kagome said, leveling a glare in Sango's direction. Hearing Sango's whine, she continued until she was standing with their coach.

"You will be playing a bout of 4 matches straight. Losing team will have to do 4 laps around the outer perimeter of the gym." Nekoma's coach began to split the teams up and sent them off onto the courts. It just so happened that the main players on Nekoma's team were on the same court as Shiratorizawa's starters.

"Kagome-senpai! How have you been?" Lev waved his arm as he greeted the girl. Kagome nodded back, giving him a small smile. Her teammates huddled into a small circle and began to plan against the Nekoma team.

"They're known for their defense. Our goal is to come out stronger, so make sure to get power behind your spikes. Their setter on the other hand, will be difficult to deal with. He can make false plays and create distractions, so keep your eyes peeled. Just get the ball in the air and I'll get it to you guys." Kagome told them.

"Don't get pulled into their attacks. It's win or die, literally." Sango said. She could feel her coach's murderous glare behind her and shivered. The teams broke from their huddle and began walking on the court. Kagome quickly taped her wrist before tossing her jacket aside and joining her team on the court. She smoothed out the tape, unaware that her actions were caught by Nekoma's captain and brain.

Nekoma started off with the ball. Yamamoto served the ball across to Shiratorizawa's side where their libero picked it up. Kagome ran under the ball and began to watch her teammates as they ran up the court towards the net. Once the ball fell into her hands, Kagome set the ball towards Sango, who grinned at the high ball. Kuroo and Lev had jumped up for a block, but Sango spiked the ball at the side of Lev's arms. The ball hit the Russian's arm before falling to the ground with a thud. Once Sango had landed back on the floor, she grinned and poked her tongue out at Nekoma's captain before getting into position. She was unaware of the dark grin Kuroo sprouted as her back turned.

**ooo**

"No more." Rin grumbled as she iced a large volleyball shaped bruise on her arms. She shouldn't have tried to react to Bokuto's spike. Kagome had managed to get Bokuto into his emo-mode very soon into the game with the help of pressuring him into certain plays. Unfortunately, Rin had to take the brunt of these attacks.

"Good job today. Make sure to stretch and cool down before heading out for the night." Coach Nekomata told the teams. He had briefed Shiratorizawa's coach on where they would be spending the night along with their policy of having free-practice after training was over for the day.

"Ladies. Good work today. Make sure to go to bed at a decent time. Take cold showers and ice those bruises. And you will not leave the campus." The Coach said, turning to Kagome and Sango with a dark look. The two girls flinched as their coach approached them.

"Care to give an explanation?" Sango opened her mouth ready to tell them about the truth or dare, but Kagome's sharp jab to her side stopped her. The Coach realized that the girls were not going to spill, a large tick mark growing on her forehead.

"Apologies Coach." Kagome said with her head slightly bowed.

"Huh. Honestly, we have been over this before. You are not to leave the campus and wander off to another school." The Coach states.

"That time wasn't our fault. If that bitch had just kept her mouth shut…" Kagome slapped her hand over Sango's mouth. The Coach raised her eyebrow at the motion.

"Seeing as you disobeyed my rules, we will be dealing out punishment. Follow me." The coach said, dismissing the rest of the team for the night as she headed over to Nekoma's coach.

"Ah, so you must be Shirabu-san and Takahashi-san. I've heard lots about you." Coach Nekomata said, greeting the girls with a smile.

"Coach Nekomata, I would like to apologize on behalf of these two. We've discussed their punishment, and for the weekend, they will be at your disposal outside of training periods." Kagome felt her heart drop. Sango gave the coach a glare as she gave them a cheerful wave before leaving for the night.

"Truth or dare?" Kagome's eyes widened at Coach Nekomata's remark.

"How did you know?" Sango asked the elderly coach.

"I think it's a tradition passed on during training camps. I played long ago, and I know my current players have played the game. Except the are awful at sneaking around so they get caught immediately." Kagome cracked a smile at that note.

"I'm surprised you girls lasted this long. How did you do it?" The two girls were very confused. They were not expecting Nekoma's coach to be this understanding or even want to know what happened.

"It's a long story. And it happened twice as well." Sango told the coach. Coach Nekomata gave the two girls a grin and sat down on the bench, gesturing for the two girls to sit. They didn't want to be rude to the other coach, seeing as they were currently dealing their punishment out, so they sat on the floor of the gym.

"Well, it started off when we were at our training camp at Itachiyama. I swear it wasn't planned or anything. And they only reason Kagome is doing this with me is because none of the girls trusted me to go alone." Sango told the coach, and with that, Sango told him about the two incidents.

"Seems like you have had your share of fun. I must admit, I am surprised you were able to get that letter into Akaashi-kun's locker." Coach Nekomata told Kagome. Kagome huffed, crossing her arms.

"It wasn't easy. Especially since we didn't know who the setter was. The both of us apologize for breaking into your schools." Kagome told the coach. Coach Nekomata could tell that the two girls were being honest, so he accepted their apology.

"I won't tell the boys a word. It's more fun that way, right?" Sango grinned. Coach Nekomata got up from his seat, Kagome and Sango following right after him.

"As for your punishment, I have a few players that would enjoy having you here." Coach Nekomata said. He told Sango to go to the adjoining gym to find Kuroo and Bokuto, to which she gagged before going off.

"Now, I've heard the rumors about you from some of my players." Kagome looked at Coach Nekomata with a curious look on her face.

"Lev's brought you up frequently. I've heard you played libero at one point. Can you help him with his receiving?" Coach Nekomata asked Kagome. The girl nodded and Coach Nekomata led her to sub-gyms that the campus housed where a few of the Nekoma regulars were practicing on their own. Lev was currently face-planted on the floor with Yaku yelling at him. Coach Nekomata coughed, getting his players attention. All of them got to their feet and came to greet their coach.

"This is Shirabu-san. She will be helping Lev with his receiving along with anything else you have troubles with." Coach Nekomata said, letting Kagome to introduce herself to his players and left the gym.

"You're going to help me right, Kagome-senpai? I wanna spike your toss again." Lev said, bouncing up to Kagome's side. The girl nodded, before turning to their libero.

"Congrats on getting into Nationals. Looks like we'll be seeing you there." Kagome said, holding out a hand. Yaku grasped her hand and shook it.

"You too." Yaku replied.

"I apologize as well, for our last meeting. It would seem you weren't the only party involved in the excursion." Yaku said, bowing slightly to Kagome before sending a sharp glare at Lev.

"No worries. I'm at fault too for not asking first. Anyways, shall we get to it?" Yaku nodded before dragging Lev with him to the center of the court. Kagome grabbed a ball from the basket before giving Lev instructions.

"Lev, I'm going to serve, and Yaku-san will receive it. You need to watch what he's doing, from moving his hands and arms, to his feet." Lev nodded, looking glum at having to still practice receiving.

"Or do you not want me to toss to you?" Lev immediately brightened and shook his head at Kagome before listening to any instructions Yaku was giving him.

**ooo **

Time flew by fast and the sun had long set. Lev had slightly improved, though his receiving was still not up to Yaku and Kagome's standards. With some of the regulars of the Nekoma team, the boys played a little bit of 3 vs 3 with Kagome helping Lev with pointers on his playing. As requested, she gave Lev a couple of sets, which attracted the attention of the other spikers on the team. Soon she had been setting for all of them, giving them advice on how to improve. They were very unlike the Shiratorizawa team. Here, the boys were able to express their passion for volleyball and train how they wanted to for the sake of their playing. Shiratorizawa only wanted a player with the lust for victory and certain talents that would be trained to perfection.

"What's your play style?" Inuoka asked, catching Kagome's attention as she had finished telling Lev what he shouldn't be doing. It was their set break and the boys were catching up on water and toweling off.

"In regard to libero or setting?" Kagome asked.

"Wouldn't they be similar?" Inuoka asked. Kagome thought about it for a moment. When she had first gotten surgery and was told that she wouldn't be able to use her wrists for setting, she had to find another place on the team so her skills wouldn't deteriorate. With the approval of her doctor and coach, she began training as a libero. During her time practicing, it had come rather natural to her, so she didn't really question it until now.

"It depends on the person. Before switching to libero, I was a setter. Having been a setter for years, I honed my instincts on reading people. From their breathing patterns to the hand-eye coordination and footwork, I studied how their bodies were functioning. When I had to switch to libero, most of that trained instinct carried over." Kagome told Inuoka.

"What made you switch to libero? It seems like you were an amazing setter before that." Inuoka asked, and Kagome felt a stab of pain in her wrist. Granted it wasn't actual pain, the mere memory made her wrist throb.

"I'd rather not talk about that, if that's alright." Kagome said, giving Inuoka a blank look. Yamamoto seemed to read the mood and dragged Inuoka and Lev over to the other members so they could give the younger boys pointers on their playing.

"I'm sorry if he got too nosy." Kagome looked to her side to see Yaku standing there with a towel around his neck and water bottle in hand.

"It's alright. I'd ask that kind of question too if I were in his place." Kagome told Yaku. Yaku looked at Kagome in the eye for a good minute before breaching the silence.

"Why did you go back to setting? Even I can tell you are a really good libero." Yaku asked. Kagome's eyes widened slightly, not having expected the question.

"Most people ask why I switched in the first place, as you just witnessed." Kagome replied.

"I'm not most people." Yaku replied, crossing his arms. Kagome let out a small laugh and nodded.

"You have that right, Mr. Demon-senpai." Yaku felt his eyebrow twitch at the nickname Lev had taken to calling him lately. Damn that Kuroo for making it in the first place.

"Someone told me that I had changed, that I wasn't as lively as before and decided to hide. They cut into me with all the things that I was trying to deny. I took a couple days off practice to wrap my head around it before sitting down with my coach to switch my position." Kagome said, staring off with a distant look before turning back to him. Yaku saw the look in her eye and didn't question it. He nodded, telling her that they were probably done for the night so she could go ahead. Kagome nodded to Yaku before leaving the gym in silence.

Walking down the paved sidewalk, she began to walk alongside the other gyms that Nekoma had on her way to the room her team was staying in. Looking down at her wrist, she noticed the tape was still on it and ripped it off, letting it fall to the ground. She instantly regretted doing so, having remembered what she forgot to do this morning, as she looked down. The jagged scar took up the entire width of her wrist, the newly formed skin paler than her complexion. Surrounding the large scar were smaller healed lines that were just as pale. Her vision began to blur as memories of that day came flashing back, and as they did, it felt like every cut was reopening again. She didn't even notice that her body was trembling until she heard Akaashi's deep voice pull her out of trance.

"Shirabu-senpai?" Akaashi called out, and Kagome's head snapped up, making eye contact with a pair of piercing gunmetal blue eyes. Akaashi had come out of the gym to get some fresh air when he saw Kagome standing still in the middle of the sidewalk. He called out to her to see if she was lost but got no response. He was going to leave the issue until he noticed that her body was trembling, so Akaashi decided to approach her and ask if she was okay.

"Akaashi?" Kagome's voice came out in a hoarse whisper, a lone tear trailing down her cheek. Akaashi nodded his head in response, and Kagome felt her knees give out underneath her. She started to fall down when Akaashi caught her, bringing both of them to the ground. He had an arm wrapped around her back to support her while she had her hands fisted on his shirt.

Akaashi wasn't really sure what to do. He'd never been in this position before and didn't know how to approach her without causing her to have another panic attack. He thought back to what his mother would do for him when he got upset as a child.

"It's me." Akaashi said, bring his hand up to her cheek, cupping her face as he wiped away her tear with his thumb.

"Just let me go. I'm not worth it." Kagome's voice cracked, her body shaking in fear. She tried to push away from Akaashi, but he kept a strong grip on her.

"I'm not letting go." Akaashi murmured loud enough for her to hear. Kagome felt tears welling up in her eyes as they threatened to fall down. Kagome fisted one hand in his shirt, the other reaching up to hold Akaashi's hand.

"Why?" Kagome asked. Akaashi didn't reply, only pulling her closer into his larger frame. Telling her to follow his breathing, he began to inhale and exhale slowly. Kagome copied his actions and began to take deep breaths. Kagome kept staring into his eyes, lulled by the safety that they seemed to hold. Eventually Kagome managed to slow her breathing. Her grip loosened on Akaashi's shirt, but she kept a hand on him, letting the feel of his heartbeat calm her down. Akaashi monitored her progress, making sure that she wasn't relapsing. Once he was certain that she was okay, he helped her up from the ground. He kept one arm around Kagome to make sure she was stable on her feet.

"Are you alright?" Akaashi asked, looking down at Kagome. Kagome let go of Akaashi's shirt and brushed her cheeks, erasing any evidence of tears. Noticing that she was good on her feet, he pulled his arm away from her waist and stepped back a little to give her some space.

"Arigato Akaashi-san." Kagome said in a small voice, giving Akaashi a bittersweet smile.

"It's alright Shirabu-senpai. I hope you are feeling better." Akaashi told her, and she nodded in response.

"Could you keep quiet about this?" Kagome asked, referring to what had just happened. Akaashi nodded, realizing that this sort of panic attack wasn't something others knew about.

"I'm looking for Kuroo. My vice-captain should be playing with him, and it's time I collected her for the night." Kagome replied. Akaashi gestured to the open gym behind him, telling her that her friend was there. The two walked in silence towards the gym, moving the net out of the way so they could enter the gym. Sango was currently pelting volleyballs at Kuroo and Bokuto, the two boys running around the gym to avoid her wrath.

"Sango!" Sango dropped the ball in her hand and turned to see Kagome standing in the entrance of the gym. Looking behind her, she noticed that Akaashi was standing a little behind Kagome as if shadowing her.

"Kagome, how did it go?" Sango asked, walking up to the girl. Kuroo and Bokuto saw that Sango was distracted and headed over to Akaashi.

"It was alright. Lev hasn't changed a bit. His receives still suck." Kagome replied bluntly, causing Kuroo to laugh.

"It's late out. We should close the gym and head out." Akaashi told Bokuto and Kuroo as they went off to collect the volleyballs and take down the net.

"Are you okay, Kagome?" Sango asked, noticing that Kagome wasn't acting her usual self.

"I forgot my makeup today." Kagome told Sango. The younger was confused at first but then her eyes widened a split second later, and she looked at Kagome with a worried look.

"I'm alright now." Sango gave Kagome a good look, checking her head down to see if she was truly okay before leaving the subject. Once the boys had cleaned up the gym, the five of them left, heading towards the school building.

"How did your training go? Manage to hit Kuroo in the head yet?" Kagome asked. Sango nodded, getting an annoyed yelp from Kuroo.

"I was the best though, hey hey hey. Right Sango?" Bokuto asked Sango. Seeing as she didn't want Kuroo to win, she nodded her head, letting Bokuto rant about his amazing playing. Kuroo started to tease Bokuto about his playing, causing him to look at Sango for backup. The three began to snipe at each other back and forth, leaving Kagome and Akaashi trailing behind them.

"I'm sorry about before." Akaashi looked down at Kagome.

"At the hanabi festival. It was rude of me to assume an opinion for you. I want to apologize for that." Kagome told Akaashi.

"If you're apologizing, I have to as well. We both said things that weren't necessary. I'm sorry about that as well." Akaashi replied. Kagome gave him a small smile before looking ahead to see that they had made it to the building.

"We best be heading off. Coach will have our heads if we're not back." Kagome nodded at Sango's words. Giving Akaashi a small bow, Kagome turned and began to walk ahead when she heard his voice call out to her.

"Good night Shirabu-senpai. You as well, Sango-san." Akaashi told the two girls, with Bokuto and Kuroo chiming in after. Sango replied with a goodbye to Bokuto and Kuroo while Kagome turned to face Akaashi.

"I highly doubt there's a need for honorifics Akaashi-san." Kagome told him, giving him a knowing look. Waving her hand, she said her goodbyes before heading with Sango to their room to get ready for a shower.

"Oya… oya…." Kuroo said, wrapping his arm around Akaashi's neck.

"What was that all about?" Kuroo said, gesturing to what Kagome had parted with.

"Nothing. We talked over our situation and decided to apologize to each other." Kuroo didn't believe Akaashi for a second, despite the amazing poker face the younger boy had. Akaashi was sticking to his word and didn't utter a word about what had transpired between him and Kagome. Though, it did make him wonder what caused her to become so unhinged.

"Uh huh. I'm sure that's exactly what she meant." Kuroo replied. Bokuto was silent for once, causing Akaashi to look over at him.

"Is something wrong, Bokuto-san?" Bokuto hummed for a moment, trying to process what he was trying to say.

"Is it normal for people to have lines on their arms?" Bokuto asked, causing Akaashi and Kuroo to pause and look at Bokuto.

"What do you mean Bo?" Kuroo asked.

"I'm not exactly sure what it was, but I definitely saw a large line on Kagome-san's wrist. Not ones that were drawn in, more like something cut it. It was all jagged-looking." Akaashi and Kuroo felt a large weight hit them. It looked like Bokuto didn't know what it was, but Akaashi and Kuroo knew better.

"Bokuto, don't tell anyone about that okay? This needs to stay quiet." Kuroo told Bokuto, shocking the owl-haired boy with his serious tone.

"Why? What happened? What do you know?" Bokuto asked and Kuroo shushed him, telling Bokuto to keep his voice down.

"Bokuto-san, what you saw probably wasn't a regular cut. If you saw a healed cut on her wrist, it is probable that she did it herself." Akaashi told Bokuto.

"Cutting herself…" Then it hit Bokuto. He understood why the air was so serious around them now.

"There's no way." Bokuto replied with an incredulous tone.

"We don't know Bokuto-san. We can't be 100% sure, but that doesn't mean we can't rule that out either. Everyone has their pasts." Akaashi told his captain.

"Before she plays a game or even practices, I see her taping her wrist with medical tape. It could be nothing, but it could also be something." Kuroo pointed out.

"Should we tell someone?" Bokuto asked. Kuroo hummed, not really sure what to do.

"Technically, we should, but in this case, we don't even know if she did it or not. What do you think Akaashi?" Kuroo asked the setter.

"We need to tell someone, maybe a doctor, or ask one of the coaches for advice. It's better if we told someone, even if we're wrong. Because if we don't tell someone, it could get worse." Akaashi replied.

"And what are we supposed to say? Sorry to bother you, but we think Shiratorizawa's captain is suicidal."

**ooo**


End file.
